Percy Jackson- The Deadliest Demigod
by Gaming Glatorius
Summary: An AU of the Percy Jackson storyline, with a far more dangerous son of Poseidon. It will follow the book storyline but told from the perspective of a more calculating character. Watch how this Percy kicks ass. Rated T for language. Contains Red vs Blue references. Check out the video companion of this fanfic on Youtube.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1. New Contract

' _I hate this place_ ' was the thought of Perseus Jackson as he swept his gaze over his surroundings. It was a regular forest somewhere in Washington, the air was rather cold and bit at any exposed flesh it found. But there was plenty of humidity and ample water all around him, and that suited Percy just perfectly.

Suddenly the air was quiet, what few birds still resided here at this time of year had gone silent. But in the absence of their music came a sound that was music to Percy's ears. It was a rhythmic thudding sound, like large feet of some heavy being impacting the ground. Percy listened as the sound grew louder, soon catching the sound of huffing snorts. He didn't need to look around to find the source, he could feel its eyes on him. It remembered him, and rightly was wary of him. It had learned several times now the cost of trying to fight him.

The footfalls ceased, only the low breathing sounded now. Percy knew that the Minotaur was weighing its options. If it moved quickly enough it would have a big three demigod as a meal, but one small slipup and it would be defeated again. Percy smirked, he knew what the monster behind him would do. It was only a matter of waiting for the Minotaur's patience to wear thin.

As if on que the beast charged, but it had lost the moment it decided to even twitch. From the ground, at an almost perfect thirty degree angle, a tendril of water formed from the droplets on the nearby shrubbery, launched forward, and at the right moment froze into a razor sharp ice spike. The Minotaur's own momentum carried it far enough on the spike to cause death, its body disintegrating into dust moments later.

With a sigh Percy regarded his latest kill. It had become somewhat boring to hunt monsters. His powers made fighting them contemptuously easy and even when against groups he found himself without challenge. Fishing a phone from his pocket he dialed his mentor. The other line rang once.

 _"Percy, I trust the hunt went well."_ A voice said on the other end.

"Naturally. You can tell the client that his bull-headed problem has been dealt with." Percy said, making his way back to his camp.

 _"Will do. And the money will be transferred as we agreed. But right now there is another matter to discuss"_ the voice said with great seriousness.

"What, another contract? They don't usually come this quickly." Percy said, having reached his camp by the river and begun preparing his boat.

 _"No contracts. At least not yet. It seems that Zeus's Lightning bolt has gone missing. He suspects you of stealing it and has started butting heads with your father Poseidon. There is now conflict, and conflict means possible contracts."_ The voice said.

"And contracts mean money and fighting. So what's the plan?" Percy asked, climbing into the boat.

 _"For now, we wait. But a curious request came my way. From your father."_ The voice answered.

Percy stopped, this was information he didn't know how to process. Some part of him wanted to meet Poseidon, but another part wanted nothing to do with him. "What does he want?"

 _"For you to go to Camp Half-Blood. And I actually agree with him. There may be someone there who can point you in the right direction, you could at least file away the information until it's needed. What better place to get intel on godly matters then in a place where demigods congregate."_ The voice suggested. But Percy knew that it was never a suggestion, it was always an order.

"Very well. But I wish to go on record and say that I do not appreciate this." Percy said, already using his powers to propel his boat onward.

 _"Noted and ignored. Now get there on the double, we have shit to do."_ The voice commanded.

"One last question Mike, how much did Poseidon pay you to send me to camp?" Percy asked.

 _"Four-hundred thousand drachma, and double that in dollars."_ Mike answered nonchalantly.

"The next time I see you, I'm putting a bullet in you." Percy spat, tossing the phone into the water in disgust. Now he was to stay at some little summer camp for the foreseeable future and would be stuck with little fledgling demigods. Only one phrase summed up this situation.

"Fuck my life." Percy said, his boat being guided along.


	2. Chapter 2 Welcome to Camp

Chapter 2. The lightning Thief

Hours later found Percy gazing at the boundary of Camp Half-Blood, a cross between apathy and a frown on his face.

"Mr. Jackson, greetings." A strong voice rang out. Percy's head snapped towards its source. A centaur was walking towards him with a welcoming expression on his bearded face. Chiron, the camp director of Camp Half-Blood. "Your… employer informed us of your coming. Welcome to Camp Half…"

"Mr. Chiron." Percy interrupted. "I am not here by choice, I am being paid to find information on Zeus's missing bolt. I don't care for this, I don't care for you, and I don't care for any demigod here. If they get in the way they will be hurt, or be dead."

"I can't let you threaten other campers like that Percy." Chiron said firmly.

Percy just shrugged, stepping through the barrier and taking in the camp before him. He glanced around without interest, these demigods typically would go their whole lives without a quest or without an end goal for their training. And most would die before they got to be too old.

Chiron continued to watch for a moment, a concerned look on his face. He started making his way back to the long house, pondering the behavior of his newest camper. The moment his gaze left Percy, a group began their approach towards Percy.

"Hey you, you new to camp? Good, because we have a little… tradition that we have for newbies." The girl in the front of the group said, a smirk on her face.

The others in her group began to swarm Percy, two grabbing him by his arms. They didn't seem concerned by the lack of resistance from their intended victim. Which quickly changed into looks of confusion and then of pain as their breath began to fog with each exhale. Their skin started to pale as their core temperatures began to plummet. The others looked on with great concern, backing away when they started to realize that Percy was the one freezing their siblings.

"I will say this only once. If you fuck with me, you won't live long enough to properly regret it." Percy said, thawing out the two flanking him and then lifting them into the air. Percy dimly noted that lifting these two up felt a lot like when he would practice this with water balloons years ago. Jolting out of his brief trip down memory lane he released his two demonstration 'volunteers'. They ran the fastest in their flight from him, the rest not far behind.

"Pricks." Percy muttered, making his way to where he saw a number of buildings gathered.

All around him he saw campers going about their various training, and while he could see the merits of each exercise he also could easily identify those who he could easily remove. Sword fighting on rope bridges to improve footwork, archery which was self-explanatory, and spear work. Percy had been taught how to contend with most weapons with his kukri long knives, but that was only if they managed to get past his powers.

When he finally reached the cabins he saw them arranged in an odd 'U' shape. The sea stone one was clearly the cabin for children of Poseidon. Entering the cabin he saw that it was quite barren. No one was going to come through here, so he could easily plan the situation. Percy took a seat and stared at the walls, slipping into deep thought on how he would proceed. His adoptive brother/employer had taught Percy some degree of politics as part of his curriculum in youth. Percy could use this to figure out what the situation was.

But before he could get too deep into his thoughts his phone rang out. Fishing the small device from his pocket he flicked it open and pressed it to his ear, never looking away from the same spot on the wall.

"Hello Mike." Percy said. Mike was the only person who could contact Percy.

 _"Hello Percy. I see you made it to camp safely."_ Mike said, causing Percy to narrow his eyes. Their organization could easily use a great many devices as means of surveillance.

"Traffic cams?" Percy guessed.

 _"Nope. ATM, near the gift shop next to the fishing hole."_ Mike answered. Percy nodded in acceptance, their techs had been working on getting into ATM cams for the last few months.

"What do you want Mike?" Percy asked, leaning back in his chair.

 _"Your thoughts on the situation. I managed to prove to Zeus that you didn't take the bolt, so you're out of danger there. But where do you intend to begin your search?"_ Mike asked in return, he already had some suspects but he wanted to truly make Percy a great operative.

"I've already started to eliminate Olympians as suspects. Zeus himself, Dionysus, Artemis, Aphrodite, Apollo, Athena and Demeter are out as they have nothing to gain. And in Zeus's case he is too vain, he wouldn't falsely hide his symbol of power for the sake of starting a war. Poseidon is unlikely as he has no interest in starting fights like this. Doubly so for Hades, he gains nothing except more work from any war. Hephaestus is possible out of resentment for Zeus, but again his interests don't lie in that direction. He probably spends more time in his workshop than anywhere else. Hera and Hermes are possible suspects, and for each their own good reasons. Hera is incredibly petty in regards to her attempts to punish Zeus, taking away his bolt is just like taking Thor's hammer. A bit of a un-masculation, but even she can recognize that this situation could easily spiral right out of control. Hermes is the god of both thieves and mischief, so this could easily be just a big prank on his part. But that is unlikely since again, he would know that this situation could get out of hand very easily. Which leaves one god with not only motive, but also the means and opportunity. But you already knew I had come to this conclusion before you even called, didn't you?" Percy asked with a smirk.

 _"Naturally, I did teach you after all. Ares is the only person who stands to gain anything from a conflict like this. Apollo owes me a favor, I'm going to go plan this out. Zeus still doesn't like you so if I play this even remotely wrong it could end very badly for us both."_ Mike said. Percy nodded, he figured Mike had a plan. He always did.

"What do you want me to do about this now?" Percy asked.

 _"I want you to head to Ares's palace. It's located in the Intrepid Military Museum. I will make sure that your gear is there"_ Mike said.

"My full set?" Percy asked.

 _"Naturally."_ Was all Mike said before he hung up.

Percy snapped the phone shut and pondered. He would leave early tomorrow morning, ocean travel could get him there in about two hours. But for now, he needed food and sleep. Walking back outside he was greeted by a number of stares. He ignored them all, his concerns were much grander than whatever rumors these people wanted to start about him. It was about dinner time now anyway, and all of the campers were making their way to the fire pit. Sitting alone at the Poseidon table was a bit new for Percy, his organization didn't segregate based on godly parentage.

He tuned out Chiron's speech, he didn't care. He noticed a blond from the Athena table looking at him, a satyr from the tree line did the same. It didn't matter, if they turned hostile then he would too. And he would do it much better. He didn't get up to do the food sacrifice, instead he simply flicked a portion of meat with some rice and gravy into the fire. More stares, more not caring. Instead he planned his journey tomorrow, he knew little of Perris Island's set-up. But it should still be the same basic concept as any other installation.

"Here's to tomorrow." Percy said as he dug in.


	3. Chapter 3 Percy's Big Reveal

Chapter 3. Percy's big reveal

 _Why can't anything be easy?_ Percy thought from within the very boat he had used the day before. It was morning now, and Percy found himself roped into a situation with a bit more baggage than he would have liked.

Glancing back, Percy observed his passengers. Annabeth, her hair bound back to prevent it from obstructing her efforts to maintain her knife, and Grover, who was eating some foil wrapped enchiladas that Percy had been about to toss.

Looking up Annabeth noticed Percy's look. "What is it?"

"I'm just trying to figure out how you managed to convince me to bring you two along." Percy answered with absolute honesty.

"I threatened to tell Chiron that you were about to leave. Grover was a means for making it an appropriate three man team." Annabeth responded, some degree of pride or superiority on the edge of her voice. It was quickly dashed.

"Yes you did do that, and then I decided that having a daughter of the genius goddess as well as an actual entity of greek mythology would be useful. In all fairness, if you had gone to tattle I could have left before any action to stop me could be put in place." Percy acknowledged.

"Just leave the planning to me, I would hate for you to get us killed the first time we see a monster." Annabeth said, trying to get the last word in. Again, it didn't work.

"Just remember two things. First, I can breathe underwater and you can't. And second, we are at least an hour from the nearest shoreline. And for the record, that's an hour in this boat and way too far for you to swim to shore." Percy said, turning back to the front of the boat. Annabeth had no response and Grover was now just trying to not anger Percy.

The next few minutes were spent in silence, Annabeth and Grover eventually took up conversing with each other, and Percy could think in peace. He wished that he could have his armor and firearms right now. His full set of equipment was assembled for the express purpose of dealing with children of all the gods. Even those of Zeus or Hades, and while children of those two were unlikely he would be a fool to ignore the possibility. He brought his attention back in time to start closing in on the point where he would start heading north.

They began the trip up the Hudson River at around ten in the morning, both Annabeth and Grover were taking in the sights around them with some confusion. But Percy decided that speed in favor of subtly was preferable, so he upped his speed to just under his maximum output. He was closing in on one particular set of docks, one where a large de-militarized ship sat. within minutes they had come to the massive former aircraft carrier.

"Why are we here?" Grover asked, a little nervous. Aircraft carriers were not something he found comfort in being close to.

"Because this is the location of one of my organizations chief relay points." Percy answered, bringing his boat to one of the docks.

"You never did explain this organization of yours." Annabeth answered, climbing out of the boat and noticing a dock manager approaching.

"This is true. But I was given instructions to come here." Percy responded, already walking towards the buildings in the distance. When he came to the manager he beckoned him down to his level, a brief exchange of whispers and the handoff of a wad of twenties brought about the biggest of smiles.

Annabeth wanted to say something more, but she could spot the 'stop asking questions' tone of voice when she heard it. So, she simply went along with it for now. They walked only until they came to a small gun shop, it was there that Percy did something that perplexed his companions. He looked closely at a side of the building, Annabeth noted how the grout of the bricks was in two near identical shades of gray. The darker seemed to form an odd, multi-point circular shape.

Percy stepped into the shop, closely followed by Annabeth and Grover. It was simple, a sales counter on in the back, walls covered in knives and firearms, and aisle shelves full of ammunition, cleaning kits, and instruction manuals. A lone man stood in the back, fiddling with a disassembled handgun.

(Easter egg warning, comment if you spot which movie it's from)

The man stopped working for a moment, and placed his hand to support his face. On his right ring finger was a large, silver class ring of sorts. But instead of a gem it just had a star with twelve points. Percy stopped just in front of the counter and looked about, his own hand coming up to tap fingers against his lips. On his own right hand was an identical ring.

"Good weather that we've been having." The man said casually.

"Yes, but I always carry an umbrella." Percy responded, confusing Annabeth and Grover.

The man simply nodded and lifted the gate, allowing the group to come behind the counter. There was a trap door leading to the cellar of the building, which was closed the moment Percy's group entered.

"What are we doing down here?" Grover said, clearly not liking being underground.

"Getting my equipment." Percy said, walking over to a group of shelves on the wall.

When he found the right shelf he pressed his ring to a particular knot in the wood of the shelf. There was a loud metallic sound, and the shelf moved out of the way to reveal a passage further down. But while the stone of the cellar was dusty and old, this new passage was clearly new. Percy walked down the steps without hesitation. A left turn and another flight of steps brought the trio to a large room with a desk planted right in the back. A man sat at it in tactical armor and watched their approach without a care.

"Agent Tsunami." He greeted with one hand, the other under the edge of his desk.

"Agent Edison." Percy greeted back.

"All things good?" Edison asked casually.

"Yes, I am not captured. So stow the pistol." Percy said simply.

Edison smiled, and brought up his other hand to show a large, powerful looking pistol that he had been pointing at Annabeth.

"Got my gear?" Percy asked, not bothered by the weapon

"In the locker room. Good hunting." Edison said, shooing them along.

Percy gave a nod and headed to a door on the left, but when Annabeth and Grover attempted to follow they were stopped.

"Wait here." Percy ordered, shutting the door behind him dismissively.

"Is he always like that?" Grover asked Edison.

"What, you mean an ass?" Agent Edison responded. Seeing Grover nod he continued. "He was essentially raised by one of the most effective field agents we have ever had. Agent Voleur was what he was called when he was a field agent. After he retired from field work he shifted over to be a handler, specifically Agent Tsunami's handler."

"Which brings me to my questions." Annabeth spoke up, at last about to voice the questions she had about their situation. "What is this place? Who are you people? Why are you named Edison? And what is going on?"

Agent Edison smirked for a moment before answering. "In order. Percy will answer. Percy will answer. Because all your half-siblings working here tend to choose names of brilliant individuals. And, Percy will answer." Each 'answer' was accompanied by a finger raising, bringing a bit of visual annoyance as well.

Before Annabeth could respond the door opened behind them. Turning to look both Annabeth and Grover were confused by Percy's choice of dress. Percy was wearing a large, black track suit, which was very baggy and seemed more to sag on him than anything else. Annabeth noted that on certain areas the suit seemed to bend and crease in ways that didn't make sense.

"Dude…Why are you wearing that?" Grover asked, trying to contain his laughter.

Percy didn't answer verbally, instead he opted for unzipping his top halfway. Underneath the suit was another suit, but this one ended Grover's laughter. Dark gray armor plates attached to a black body suit peaked out through the opening in the track suit. Annabeth now realized what the odd creasing meant. The track suit was to hide the armor suit.

Zipping himself back up Percy shifted his attention to Edison. "I will need whatever information you have on Ares's movements. And a vehicle to wherever he currently is."

Agent Edison simply nodded. "Mike said you would ask for such things. Ares is currently lurking around in Denver, we don't know why. But we do have a car ready for you."

(Easter egg #2)

"You have Leonard here?" Percy asked with clear excitement.

Agent Edison merely held up a set of keys. Which Percy snatched with a childlike excitement.

Percy led his little group to the other door, which in turn led to an underground car garage/loading area. There were a number of cars, trucks, and vans scattered about. Some of the cars looked very expensive, one in particular stood out. A sapphire blue Mazda RX-8 with black accents and a license plate reading ' '.

Percy looked back with a smile and said. "Hop in."

Annabeth and Grover shared a look before climbing into the back seats of the very expensive looking car. Annabeth tried to take the passenger seat but Percy gave a look that clearly said 'you do not have permission to call shotgun'. With his passengers buckled in Percy started the car and gunned it towards the nearest ramp. In seconds the group had surfaced and were on their way, the exit point being hidden by a raising cover that lowered within seconds of the car's surfacing. Annabeth and Grover were a little unnerved by the speed that Percy was going.

"Now then Annabeth, I believe you had some questions about my line of work?" Percy began. Surprising Annabeth with his initiation of the conversation.

"Yes, but I figured that you didn't want to talk to anyone about it." Annabeth responded, noticing that Percy was going more than double the speed limit.

"Well you're here now, I don't feel like playing music, and it will make situations a little clearer later on." Percy clarified.

"Ok. So, what is this organization you belong to and what was with the various names?"

"My organization is called Divinity, we're sort of like Camp only we offer greater security and actual pay. We get contracts from the gods, demigods in important positions, and anyone else who needs our assistance and is willing to pay. The names are more to hide our identities from potential threats."

"What do you mean greater security?" Annabeth asked, somewhat offended.

"Your Camp only protects its demigods during the summer, the rest of the year they are dependent whatever skills they have to protect themselves. Divinity always has safe houses as well as several underground compounds in each state, with operatives to man them. We have tech and equipment years ahead of most of the world and centuries ahead of Camp. Each field agent is able to match entire teams of Campers on their own." Percy listed off, enjoying the looks of those behind him.

"Like that armor you have on?" Grover asked.

"Exactly. A semi-metal bullet resistant bodysuit, covered in bullet-proof plates composed of an alloy of titanium and celestial bronze. A pretty impressive leap from the armor you wear at camp." Percy said, glancing down at his chest.

"And the contracts?" Annabeth asked.

"When the gods have a job that's too…Embarrassing to give a quest for, they call us. We have long established a reputation for not asking too many questions. Sometimes we manage to get demigods who have retired from field work into positions of power and connections. CEO's of corporations, politicians, anyone who could manage to get eyes and ears over large areas. Most of our money comes from patents, looting monster dens that we manage to clear out, and from legitimate stock exchanging. The rest comes from contracts from the gods." Percy explained, he had a feeling that he may just do some recruiting on this contract.

"But how do you manage to keep such an organization running, how does its hierarchy work?" Annabeth asked.

"Divinity's founder is still maintaining his position as leader, but he is advised by a council comprised of senior members called the greater council. Each member has jurisdiction over a large operation territory, each greater councilor has a territory council that manages the areas that make up each territory. And each territory councilor has a management council who handle financial, personnel, and other area based affairs." Percy explained, retrieving a tablet from the glovebox and handing it back to Annabeth. "That should do better for explaining it, there should be a diagram under 'structure' that will provide a visual."

Annabeth pressed a button on top of the tablet and activated the display. The screen lit up with a twelve pointed star logo for a moment before it changed to a simple white background with a number of icons. Grover and her then spent the next few hours pouring over the various pieces of information. Organization structure, mission classification, and even a basic breakdown of weapons unique or iconic to Divinity. It remained that way until the group stopped for a bathroom break and food run. Right now it was a few hours till midnight and the group was less than ten miles east of Kansas City. They had made a nearly twelve hour drive in less than eight.

"I say that we take a rest, catch a few hours of sleep." Percy said, getting nods from Annabeth and Grover. Annabeth was mulling over the information she had just gotten from the tablet, Grover was chowing down on a large veggie-burrito. Percy was eating a chicken sandwich, opening a small can that emitted an oddly pleasant smell.

Annabeth looked over at it. "What's that?"

"This is a scent mask, blocks the smell of demigods in a limited area. This being an enclosed space makes it a little more effective. Now then, let's get some shut eye." Percy explained before he reclined the driver's seat somewhat, not enough to intrude upon Grover in the back. Annabeth had been allowed to take the passenger seat for the night, but she knew she would have to vacate it by morning. The trio fell to sleep quickly, the pleasant smell, comfortable seats, and well balanced temperature inside the car made sleep come within minutes.

Sleep always came easy for Percy when he had the help of the scent mask, and the solid eight hours of sleep that the group got did wonders to recharge their batteries. The trio got a delicious breakfast, topped off the car, and hit the road again. They were just over half-way to Denver and would make it there before evening. Ares was bound to be expecting them, and when Percy met him he would be ready for a fight. Until then, it was time for a little AC/DC.

 _Living easy, living free_

 _Season ticket on a one-way ride_

 _Asking nothing, leave me be_

 _Taking everything in my stride_

 _Don't need reason, don't need rhyme_

 _Ain't nothing I would rather do_

 _Going down, party time_

 _My friends are gonna be there too_

"I'm on the Highway to Hell!" Percy sang along with the music.


	4. Chapter 4 The Plot Thickens

Chapter 4. The Plot Thickens

After about a half day of hard driving and rocking out to the legends of the eighties and nineties the group had finally arrived in Denver. It was a touch into the afternoon when they stopped at a little diner, the desire for food once again making an appearance. But when Percy got out, stooping so as to mime talking to someone else in the driver's seat, he had a very serious expression.

"You both may want to stay out here. Things may get a little…dicey in the next few minutes." Percy said, his eyes locked onto one of the diner's windows.

"Why?" Annabeth asked, looking over to try and see what had Percy so on edge. All she could see was a tall biker-looking man with sunglasses.

"Because that's Ares." Percy said simply, stepping away to head towards the diner's doors.

Annabeth and Grover shared a look for a moment before scrambling out of the car. Percy had already reached the door when he heard the other two emerge, an 'of course' look plastered to his face. He paused at the door, letting them catch up but also making sure to get Ares's attention. When they entered the energy in the room changed, shifting from casual and unremarkable to tense in a split second. Ares stared into Percy's eyes, and Percy stared right back. He only broke this contact to look at Annabeth and Grover, then to a pair of empty seats nearby, then back to them.

They understood, they should take a seat away from Percy and Ares. Turning back Percy kicked a chair into position directly across from Ares. Annabeth could already start to see the psychological game Percy was playing. Get them out of the immediate area of fire, take a challenging position across from Ares, and, as Percy sat down, take a casual posture. Percy had just taken command of the battlefield, issued a direct challenge, and took an unconcerned posture to say 'you are no threat to me'. A conclusion Ares came to if the set of his jaw was any indicator.

"So, you're cousin Ares." Percy said with a smirk. Ares was clearly not amused, but quickly changed his expression to one of calm humor.

"Perseus Jackson. I heard that you were suspected of stealing Zeus's bolt. But your…friend was able to delay any action against you." Ares said, flexing his power slightly. He was trying to intimidate Percy, but Percy was not so easily fazed by this.

"Oh I think I know who has the bolt. After all, who profits most from a war between the gods?" Percy said, leaning back.

"And who would that…" Ares began, but Percy interrupted by waving down a server. Once again Percy was doing his best to push Ares, this time by treating him as if his words weren't worth Percy's time. The war god's face was pure indignant rage for a moment, until control reigned again.

"One coke please, and whatever my friends want." Percy ordered, the waitress nodded and went to take Annabeth's and Grover's orders. "And to answer your question. You, of course."

"You think I stole Zeus's bolt?" Ares asked calmly. The waitress was back with Percy's coke, but left as fast as she could.

"No, you didn't steal it. To steal the bolt would have taken someone clever with skills in stealth. Two traits beyond you." Percy said casually, taking a sip of coke. He inwardly smirked when he saw the muscles in Ares's neck bunch for a few seconds. "No, someone else stole it. But you likely have something to do with the situation. Losing his symbol of power, Zeus would send everything he had to find it."

"There is a god with the means of stealing the bolt undetected." Ares started, dangling the information like bait on a hook. Percy leaned forward, pretending to be drawn in.

"Who might that be?" Percy asked.

"A god with some serious resentment in regards to the treatment from his brother. A god with an item allowing one invisibility." Ares said, attempting to shift the suspicions that Percy had about him. It didn't work.

"Hades." Percy said, taking another sip of his coke. He would play along for now.

"But, I'm willing to help you out on your little job in exchange for you doing a small errand for me." Ares offered.

"What can you offer? I have everything that I could ever need for what I do." Percy said.

"Information, money, and some more bullets for those weapons you have in your trunk." Ares offered.

Percy mulled it over for a few moments, before. "Done, what do you need?"

"There is a waterpark not far from here, I need you to retrieve my shield. It's in the tunnel of love ride." Ares said simply.

"What, you mistake it for a Frisbee and lose it." Percy mocked.

Annabeth and Grover were almost having heart-attacks at the sheer disrespect Percy was showing. Ares himself was barely holding it together. Percy decided that he had done enough and departed to the park, he needed to get that shield. Annabeth and Grover followed, not wanting to be too close to an angry war god.

It was a short car ride to the park, which was clearly old, worn-down, and abandoned. The gate was locked with barbed wire on top, the rides beyond were clearly in extreme disrepair. Percy was silent as he pulled up, his eyes sharp and alert as he watched for any and all dangers. Opening the trunk Percy lifted a false bottom and revealed a weapon rack on the underside of the board with a large supply of ammunition compartments. There was a Franchi AL-48 shotgun, an XM8 assault rifle, an SR-2 Versek submachine gun, a few Beretta 9mm pistols, a magnum revolver, and even an RG-6 Grenade launcher in the middle of the ammo compartments. Annabeth and Grover had never seen such an impressive arsenal. The jumpsuit was quickly removed, revealing the suit of armor underneath. It was a number of well-polished black

Percy relocated the long knives from his back to his outer thighs and picked up the assault rifle. The rifle had a pair of magazine brackets on its left side, which Percy filled with two full mags. It took its place on the right side of his back with the handle pointing right. A specialized magnetic pairing between the weapon and the armor on Percy's back securing the weapon. The shotgun was next, being filled with shells, and taking its place on the left side of his back with the handle pointing to the right as well. A Beretta was loaded with a clip and placed in an actual holster under Percy's left armpit.

"Let's go." Percy said, finishing his statement with a quick slash through the chains securing the gate with one of his kukris.

The group searched around for a few minutes, each of the rides in a state of decay. But eventually they found the tunnel of love. It had a ring of cupid statues around its edge, all facing inward. Down in the boat below the shield was clearly visible, next to a scarf. Percy stared at the statues for a few seconds, before deciding to simply pull the Beretta and get some target practice in. Nine bangs rang out, nine cupid heads shattered. Five on one side, four on the other. Now if anything happened there would be an escape route. Sliding down to the boat Percy retrieved the shield and scarf, his hand catching a tripwire and triggering the trap. The remaining cupids fired their arrows to form a somewhat damaged net.

 **"Live to Olympus in one minute…fifty-nine, fifty-eight."** An intercom voice sounded out. Percy was uninterested, the hole in the net was still there so he just strolled out of the depression. Stomping on the mechanical spiders that emerged from under the cupids.

The remaining cupids followed Percy, the countdown still going on as he walked away. By the time it reached zero Percy was out of sight, the shield and scarf in his possession and ready for delivery. Annabeth had fled at the first sight of the spiders and Grover was gone to accompany her. The next time Percy saw them they were both at the car, ready to go. Percy placed the shield and scarf in the passenger seat and started the engine. The trip back to the diner was just as short as the trip from it, but this one was a little tenser. Ares was waiting outside the diner, leaning against a motorcycle.

"So you have it." Ares said, a touch of disappointment in his voice.

"Your shield, and the scarf. But I have a feeling that you were expecting some… entertainment." Percy said, taking note of the motorbike.

"Good. Though I was hoping for a show." Ares said taking the shield and scarf. "Here…" He said handing off a black backpack. "For the Road."

Percy looked inside and saw a large wad of bills, a bag of drachma, and a belt of grenades. When Percy looked away he saw a larger bag on the ground, likely filled with the ammo.

"Now, about that information." Ares began.

"We can start by you swearing upon the River Styx that you are not in possession of the bolt." Percy stated, causing Ares to snap his attention to the young demigod.

"And why would I do that?" Ares demanded.

"To prove either your innocence or guilt." Percy said simply.

When Ares remained silent Percy simply smirked. He had more than enough reason to completely suspect Ares now.

"I have no reason to accept such terms." Ares growled out.

"You also have no reason to refuse, unless you have something to hide. It is a pretty specific oath after all, either you have it or you don't." Percy stated, ignoring some of the odd looks he was getting from inside the diner. Armor and firearms don't sit well with most people, especially strapped to a twelve year old.

Ares's face was blank, but a sneer quickly formed. "Clever punk. You never really bought the Hades story, did you?"

"No, he was a suspect of course. But out of all of the gods the rest just didn't have the motive." Percy explained, pulling his shotgun.

"And you think that I'm just going to make such an oath because you asked." Ares said.

"No, it's going to be a wager. You win, I die. I win, then I get any symbols of power, other than your own, that are in you possession." Percy offered, making Ares narrow his eyes in contemplation.

"Agreed, and sworn on the River Styx." Lightning rumbled as the oath took effect. "Let's keep it traditional shall we?" Ares offered. Percy looked down to his shotgun, and then tossed it to Annabeth, where it was followed by the assault rifle, and the pistol.

"Lets." Percy said. Not a second later, Ares landed the first blow.

Percy was sent flying backwards, but managed to turn the flight into a backwards roll to land on his feet. His blades came out, ready to meet the great sword that Ares conjured. Ares tried numerous times to overpower Percy but he found himself sidestepped and evaded at every turn. Percy managed to land a few elbow strikes and kicks but Ares was always able to move his sword too fast for Percy to bring either of his weapons around offensively. But Percy learned his trade from Agent Voleur, so he now always had a few tricks up his sleeve.

When Ares next tried to charge Percy with a downward swing Percy crossed both of his blades and caught the larger sword. Ares then muscled his blade off to one side, wrenching the blade from Percy's right hand. Ares watched the blade fly away with a triumphant look, which disappeared as soon as Percy, who had used the momentary distraction to pull a push-knife from the side of his boot and then drive its blade into Ares's throat.

Ares had a look of utter shock on his face as ichor began to dribble out of his mouth. Percy pulled the blade out and Ares stumbled backwards, the shock on his face twisting into pure rage. He tried to charge again but then something odd happened. The area darkened, while time, color, and sound seemed to leave the world. Ares looked about, then looked back at Percy. One hand still on his weapon while the other tried to stem the flow of Ichor from his throat. He looked at Percy with utter loathing but could not utter any words, so rather than sputter pathetically he decided to make a grand exit. He began to glow brilliantly, Percy knew that Ares's true from was about to make an appearance so he both closed his eyes and averted his gaze. When the light died all that was left was a Greek helmet lying next to a bronze rod of sorts. The master bolt and the helm of darkness.

Percy merely gazed at the two items for a few seconds before picking them up. Striding back to his car he unceremoniously dumped the two items into the passenger seat before opening the center console and retrieving a cell phone.

Two button presses and the speed dial was in effect. _"Hello Percy, news on the job?"_

"The items have been acquired, how close are you to Olympus?" Percy asked.

 _"Five minutes, I was just finishing a small job for Apollo. I'll pass the word to Zeus. Where are you right now?"_ Mike asked.

"Denver, a few miles from one of our training centers. I'll take a Pegasus to New York and collect my fee. I should be there in a few hours." Percy said, noting the look that Annabeth gave him.

 _"Swell, see you there."_ With that Mike hung up.

Percy tossed the phone back into the center console then began to take the weapons back from Annabeth. "You intend to just send us back to camp, don't you?" She demanded.

"I was, until you just said that. Now I get the feeling that you want to come along." Percy said, casually noting that Annabeth was angry but not really caring.

"Yes we do, you owe us that." Annabeth said.

"I don't owe you shit." Annabeth flinched, she had never heard someone as young as Percy curse with such venom. "But, I can understand if you want to come and meet your mother. Grover, you want to tag along too?" Percy asked.

"Sure, but I don't think that there will be enough room on a Pegasus for three." Grover explained.

Percy was silent for a minute. "You're one of the satyrs looking for Pam, right?" Grover nodded. "There are some guys in the Denver base who have been working on that same project. Maybe they could point you in the right direction, but it would take some time to sort through all of the data."

"That's no problem at all, any leads can be useful." Grover said excitedly.

"Well then, hop in." Percy said, walking over to the driver's door. Then he noticed Annabeth trying to move the stuff to the back, her intention clear.

"Hey!" She stopped. "Normally only my mentor gets to sit in that seat." Annabeth began to close the door. "But, I'm willing to make this exception." She smiled, and slid into the shotgun seat. Grover was in the back, gazing at the relics next to him. "Buckle up, it's time to end this." And with that Percy turned on the music.

 _I was caught_ _  
_ _In the middle of a railroad track_ _  
_ _I looked round_ _  
_ _And I knew there was no turning back_ _  
_ _My mind raced_ _  
_ _And I thought what could I do_ _  
_ _And I knew_ _  
_ _There was no help, no help from you_ _  
_ _Sound of the drums_ _  
_ _Beating in my heart_ _  
_ _The thunder of guns_ _  
_ _Tore me apart_ _  
_ _You've been_ _  
_"THUNDERSTRUCK!" Percy shouted, flooring the gas.


	5. Chapter 5 Meet the Parents

Chapter 5. Meet the Parents

It had been an interesting car ride to Divinity's Denver location, hidden under Illiff School of Theology, but it had served to iron out the plan. Grover would get any information on the whereabouts of Pam from Divinity's databanks, though he would have no access to any other subjects, while Percy and Annabeth would take a Pegasus to Olympus. When Grover got the information he was to be escorted back to Camp, first class buses of course. Divinity never cut corners like that.

The campus that hid Divinity's location was full of people that would stop and gawk at such a young driver behind the wheel of such a beautiful car. At one point a student came up to the driver's window and knocked. Percy regarded the offender for a moment, and then rolled down the window.

"Hey kid, didn't your mother ever tell you it's wrong to steal cars?" The twenty something year old man said.

Percy's eyes shut, pure fury attempting to make an appearance. But he calmly looked back and said. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to get your head closed in a window?"

While the overgrown boy puzzled at Percy's words, Percy himself activated a little after-market extra his car had. A single button press and the window rolled back up very fast, just shy of choking the man-boy. He made gagging sound as he tried to free his head, which, considering that Percy had started driving again with him still in this position, he was having a very hard time doing.

"Touch my car again, and I won't be nearly as forgiving as I am today." Percy warned, rolling the window down just in time to have the punk slam into a gate post. The rest of the ride was rather smooth, news travelled fast on a campus. So word of a blue car with an insane child driver reached all around the school within minutes, and resulted in the vehicle being given a wide berth. Percy didn't care though. He had slipped back into his 'agent mode', and that meant bad news for any fool stupid enough to vex him.

The school had an area that most didn't go, it had been abandoned for years and the school was well paid to leave it alone. From the outside it seemed like any ramshackle dorm building to the untrained eye. But Annabeth had always been good at observation. She noticed the small, shiny cameras that observed them. The walls that were completely whole on the outside but showed some manufactured wear and tear, likely reinforced. The windows were boarded up but the spacing looked perfect for mounting a gun while still being covered. The rearmost building was a small garage shed, just big enough for a large truck. When they were parked inside the door shut behind them. It was silence and darkness for a few moments before mechanical whirring started to sound from beneath them. The concrete slab began to lower, at about fifty meters down it stopped, revealing a well-lit but otherwise barren concrete box of a room. There was a tunnel sloping further down directly ahead of them.

"Dude, your organization is awesome." Grover said in awe.

"You have no idea." Percy promised, driving forward to the tunnel.

It was a gentle downward slope, just enough for Percy to take his foot off of the gas and let gravity do it work on the car. The lights on the walls did wonders to make the tunnel seem friendlier, but it was still underground. Finally the tunnel leveled out to a large parking garage, there were cars, vans, and trucks here just like back in the New York location. Annabeth couldn't help but ask.

"How did Divinity build all of this? This would have taken decades to be dug out."

"In the really deep locations like this we don't have to dig. This used to be a bomb shelter during the Cold War, and a pretty large one at that. We simply expanded upon it, with the help of any demigod with geokinetic abilities. Namely a demigod named Agent Firma, who received the blessing of Hades and so gained the ability to shift sediment. She managed to expand the bunkers to include any room we need, then we simply come in behind her and line the walls with layered celestial bronze and concrete. The sediment she moved compacts into a sort of stone shell, making this location almost impossible to access without our permission." Percy explained, leading them into the base proper.

The first room they came to looked like a larger version of what had been seen back in New York, a room a few meters high, long, and wide. Though this desk was fancier in that behind the Agent working there was a large water wall with a large, twelve-pointed star in the center, it still wasn't what the two had been expecting. But this was just the greeting desk. Percy led them to the door behind the water wall. And when it opened Annabeth and Grover could only gawk in amazement. Twenty meters high and at least ten times that in length and width, this room was an immense data hub. A large circle of monitors hung from the center of the ceiling like some high tech chandelier, the three other walls were dominated by large computer systems manned by entire teams of people. Beyond that there were circular tables with maps, schematics, reports, and any other paperwork that an organization needed to run properly.

Annabeth could easily see, even from this distance, the gray eyes of Athena demigods in many of the individuals in this room. Not all of them were her half-siblings though, that much was clear. But they made up the largest percentage that she could see. The computer operators seemed to also be taking calls, their hands dancing around their keyboards. But even with all of this going on, it was largely quiet. Most of the noise seemed to come from the key strokes and the groups pouring over the paperwork on the tables.

"This is one of the training sites, and those are up-in-coming handlers and coordinators. We find that children of Athena are uniquely suited for such work, but some of them are former field agents looking to transition from active work to a more sedentary contribution. That door…" Percy said, pointing to the left. "…leads to the living and recreation areas. That one…" This time Percy pointed to the right. "…leads to the lab area. Again, any parentage is accepted where they find their interest. A majority of researchers are children of Athena or Hephaestus, but we have children of Hermes, Demeter, Apollo, and even Ares working there. While it is mostly learning here the labs do contribute actual research in a number of fields. From architecture…" Percy noted how Annabeth perked up at that. "…to armor, weapons, smart crops, stealth technology, and medicine."

"You do all of that here?" Grover asked.

"Well, not just here. This is actually one of the smaller research sites, which should make sense since this is essentially the internship site of many of Divinity's research team members." Percy explained. "How do you think we fund our activities? We have governments in our pockets because we offer solutions to innumerable problems. We have massive swaths of land in the Midwest that were given to us for crop experimentation after we showcased a strand of super corn that Divinity developed. We use it as a main activity hub for American operations."

"Super corn?" Grover asked.

"Full ears of corn in about two weeks and able to grow in near barren soil. A few harvests of this, with the inedible stalks being used as fertilizer, and a once empty area Midwestern farm becomes a fertile spot in an otherwise miserable dustbowl. We have been making millions every year with it." Percy elaborated, watching the two's breath start to hitch as they envisioned what Percy was describing.

"What else?" Annabeth asked.

"Armor like mine, able to take anything less than artillery fire. Weapons that any military in the world would sell entire installations for. Technology that is decades ahead of the rest of the world, we have already begun developing holographic images. We anticipate that we will have science fiction level holograms within the year, less if word on the laboratory grapevine is any indicator. And in medicine we are making strides in the cure for cancer, we have already developed several treatments for various musculoskeletal, nervous, and gastrointestinal diseases." Percy said, he could see Annabeth's interest in Divinity growing with every word. He had a feeling that the young woman would be very interested in joining. Grover too, that satyr had already begun to see the advantage of having access to Divinity's resources.

"So Divinity can do almost…anything." Grover asked, already looking forward to getting access to whatever Divinity has on Pam.

"Almost nothing, I can listen to the conversations held in the offices of every world leader, or even know what bills are about to be passed in congress. Bottom line is that Divinity has eyes in most of the world and ears almost everywhere else." Percy said, leading them to the door straight ahead. Leading to a small room with _another_ door straight ahead. On the floor was a circle with Divinity's symbol, and to the left was an elevator door.

"Where does this room lead?" Annabeth asked.

"The door there leads to the office of the territory councilor. One of the council members that answers to the North America Councilor. We are taking the elevator." Percy explained, hitting the 'up' button.

"Where does this elevator lead?" Grover asked, joining Percy in the circle.

"To a building on a farm about one hundred meters above us." Percy answered, just as the elevator dinged.

"And on this farm?" Annabeth trailed off in question. The elevator doors slid open and the trio entered.

"It's mostly a livestock farm for beings such as Pegasus, Hippocampi, and even as a sanctuary for various nymphs." Percy explained.

The elevator was very smooth on its ascent, and in less than thirty seconds the group had surfaced. The new setting was very old and dusty, and seemed to be a simple cellar. The elevator door seemed to be set into an alcove about a meter deep into the wall. Annabeth and Grover looked about in confusion, before looking back just as the elevator door shut. Percy paid it no mind and strode forward, the other two following behind. Grover looked back and found himself staring at a perfectly flat brick wall. No alcove, no elevator, no evidence of this being anything more than a cellar.

"Where's the elevator?" Grover asked, bringing Annabeth's attention to the wall. She was speechless, and just as confused as Grover was.

"Remember what I told you the research team was working on, what we would have within the year." Percy said from the top of the stairs leading out of this little underground room.

Annabeth and Grover both thought back to what Percy had said, and at the same time they recalled the brief bit about holograms.

"It couldn't be." Annabeth whispered, approaching the wall again. She felt along it for a moment, feeling the very solid brick, before her hand found empty air. It looked like solid brick, but whenever Annabeth tried to touch it her hand went right through it. "Holograms. They actually have holograms"

"Hey, quite loitering. We need to go." Percy's voice sounded from upstairs. The two raced up the rickety wooden staircase and came to a large kitchen area. It had all the nice amenities of a kitchen with a few years on it, cozy but not modern. The windows showed an area that would best be described as a horse pasture. Annabeth and Grover emerged to take in the scenery, Grover more than Annabeth due to his reservations of being underground. The field was a lovely green with areas of plain dirt. Horse hooves were not really conducive to growing grass. A hay field was seen spanning the distance to the left and a number of stables and barns occupied the area to the right. Up above Pegasus could be seen flying about, while on the ground horses either galloped or lazed about. A lake could be seen shimmering behind the stables.

It was like camp, but without the shield that protected it. Monsters would likely find this place from time to time, but having an organization of highly trained demigod agents nearby was an excellent deterrent.

"This is beautiful." Annabeth said.

"Divinity is not all steel, Kevlar, and violence Annabeth. We protect those that the camp cannot. No monster in their right mind attacks a Divinity location without serious backup. Now then, let's grab us a Pegasus shall we?" Percy said, before raising his hand and waving at the winged horses above. All equines, even those with flight, recognized Percy as a Poseidon demigod. The entire group dive-bombed to get to him, but a colt with a lovely dark brown coat got there first.

 _"You called Lord?"_ The Pegasus asked Percy telepathically.

"Yes, we need a ride to Olympus. Can you fly that far?" Percy asked, smirking at the head bob the Pegasus performed.

 _"For you Lord, easily."_ The Pegasus said, turning to bring his side to Percy and Annabeth. They climbed on, Percy in front and Annabeth holding on from behind him.

"Sims!" Percy yelled out.

A young man in his early teens jogged up. "Yes Agent Tsunami?"

"When Mr. Underwood is ready to head down escort him to the terminal room. Tell the operative at the desk that Mr. Underwood has Charlie eight level clearance to any reports or records we have on the god Pam." Percy ordered.

"Charlie eight?" Sims asked, that was much higher than even he was allowed access to.

"Is there a problem?" Percy asked with a dangerous edge to his voice.

"No Agent, I'll get right on it." Sims said.

"And when he is done take him to transport and have them bring him back to Camp Half-Blood." Percy finished.

"Roger that." Sims said.

"You ready?" Percy said to Annabeth. She nodded in response, flying was always a bit nerve-wracking but even more so while on the back of a flying horse. "Do it." Percy commanded. The Pegasus galloped for a few meters before opening its wings and taking flight. Higher and higher they went, until they had reached to point of flying next to the clouds.

Driving was a snail paced affair compared to flying, so it didn't take more than a few hours to reach New York. The city was beginning to show the beauty it displayed at night. Up ahead the empire state building loomed. The plan was simple, to Percy. Annabeth had no idea what Percy was planning to do.

 _"Acrobat's drop."_ Percy thought to the Pegasus, he could feel the steed smirk mentally. It came in behind one of the buildings next to the empire state building, swooping low. When it was only about five feet off of the ground the Pegasus made a sudden course change, now going straight up. Percy reached his arm back behind Annabeth's back to secure her while he fell backwards. Contorting in midair brought Percy to land on his feet with Annabeth in his arms bridal style.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Annabeth shrieked, though the way Percy was carrying her made her blush slightly it was lost in the flush of pure anger she had.

"No, not fully. I've done that maneuver dozens of times, with and without passengers." Percy explained.

"You are crazy, now put me down right now." Annabeth said. Percy shrugged, and then tried to simply drop her. But she had learned enough about him to anticipate his 'asshole' moments, and so hooked her arm around his neck. This brought their faces close together, and while Annabeth noticed this with some embarrassment Percy did not.

"Let…Go." Percy all but snarled out. He didn't like people touching him.

The two separated, Annabeth not wanting to talk about what had happened and Percy not caring. The empire state buildings door was unlocked, as always, and permitted them entry. The desk clerk looked up at them, but his eyes found the Divinity star on Percy's armor and became noticeably nervous.

"I presume you are here for the sixth-hundredth floor?" The clerk asked.

"That's right, key please." Percy said, holding out his hand. A key card entered it a second later.

"Have a nice night." The clerk said.

Percy spared no more words as he strode towards the elevator. With almost practiced ease he entered, inserted the card, and punched in the floor number. The elevator began to rise, and rise, and rise until it was clear that they had completely left the building. When the elevator opened it revealed Olympus. Beautiful buildings resting upon the clouds, perfect white steps leading away from them and towards the home of the gods, and in the distance Percy spied the chamber of the gods. Annabeth was in awe at the structures around her, while Percy was also impressed but kept a professional air. The items under his arm seemed excited to be back.

In minutes they had reached the throne room, and had the attention of the gods within. Zeus watched with his head held regally high, Poseidon lounged in his chair, Athena watched with concern evident in her eyes. Ares was still visibly upset about his fight with Percy. Said demigod made note of each of the gods, some of which stood out as major threats.

 _"Zeus. Temperamental and prone to irrationality. Threat level ten. Poseidon. Potential friendly, but bound by oath. Threat level nine. Athena, genius and master strategist. Threat level eight. Ares, cocky but expertly skilled and powerful. Threat level eight-point-five. Apollo, archer, healer, bum. Threat level six. Artemis, controlled and stable master archer. Threat level ten."_ Percy was broken from his thoughts when he spied the one being in the room who brought him great joy. "Mike. Back in black I see."

Mike regarded Percy for a moment, his eyes darted down to the items the young demigod carried. "You're late."

"I'm on time, you're just early. Again." Percy responded with a smirk, which Mike returned.

"Your property, Lord Zeus." Mike said, prompting Percy to hold up the bolt.

"And the helm?" Zeus thundered.

"The helm of darkness, property of Hades. So if you could summon him, it would be much appreciated." Percy answered, holding the helmet up for Zeus to see. Zeus frowned, but complied. With not a sound the god of the underworld appeared. Percy looked between the helm and Hades for a moment, as if debating whether to give the item back at all, before casually tossing the piece of headgear to Hades.

"Your associate vouches for your innocence, but do you have the name of the one who committed the theft?" Zeus asked.

"I don't, but I think your son, Ares, does. He is the one who had these items in his possession when I defeated him." Percy answered, ignoring the whispers that began between the other gods at that statement. Ares was not an easy opponent.

"What do you mean 'defeated'?" Zeus demanded, leaning forward.

"As in I challenged him to a fight, we tussled for a few moments, and then I put a blade in his throat." Percy explained. "What matters is that the fact that Ares had these items, but he isn't smart enough to form a plan as complex as the one that was in play."

Mike looked over, giving Percy a very familiar look. This was a test, to see if Percy's strategy skills were up to par. "Explain Percy."

"Someone steals the bolt, Zeus knows about my existence as a son of Poseidon so he automatically suspects me. This creates tensions between Zeus and Poseidon, but then the helm also gets stolen and Hades pulls a Zeus by suspecting me. Now we have tension and potential war between all of the big three, Poseidon suspected by both of his brothers in addition to Hades' pre-existing resentment about being the ruler of the underworld. It's a recipe for conflict." Percy explained.

"And what made you suspect Ares in the first place Percy?" Mike asked, a smirk now in full effect.

"I ran through all of the main twelve gods and realized that the only probable culprits were either Hermes, who may do such a thing as a practical joke…" Percy looked over at said god, who shrugged in acknowledgement. "Or Ares, who, as the god of war, had the most to gain from the conflict."

Zeus was silent for a moment, before he furrowed his brow momentarily. A slight pop later found Ares stumbling in the middle of the throne room. His eyes darted around before landing on Percy, where his face shifted into an ugly snarl.

"You!" Ares wheezed out, his throat still damaged from his fight with Percy. "I'm going to kill you Jackson."

Percy simply smirked, before putting one hand to cup is ear. "What was that? I see your lips moving and hear sounds but I don't understand because I don't speak either sore loser or little bitch."

The rest of the gods were stunned, but then some, namely Hermes and Apollo, started to snicker. No one had ever said such a thing to Ares, let alone a demigod.

"Enough!" Zeus bellowed. He then shifted his attention to his son. "Ares, did you have the bolt and the helm of darkness?"

Ares knew that if he made any attempt at lying Apollo would know immediately, so he simply nodded an affirmative.

"And where did you get them?" Zeus continued.

Ares looked at Zeus, then to Hermes. "From a demigod of yours Hermes, Luke Castellan."

Percy frowned. "Mike, do we have any information on this guy?"

Mike pulled out his phone, a touch screen one that would be hitting the main markets in the next year or two. A few swipes and taps later and the file was pulled up. "Luke Castellan. Age nineteen. Son of Hermes and May Castellan. Only quest we have a record of was his retrieval of a golden apple, where he received a scar from Ladon. Listen to this Percy. Subject has showcased open resentment of the Olympians. Continued observation required to ascertain the possibility of betraying said gods."

Percy nodded. "Makes sense then. Luke steals the items, a skill that children of Hermes are known for…"

"Hey!" Hermes interrupted indignantly.

"Tell me I'm wrong." Percy responded, to which Hermes just sat back down. "Zeus sends out a number of gods to find the bolt, Ares finds Luke but is able to be convinced to aid Luke instead, and they hatch this plan to turn the big three against each other and cause a massive conflict between the gods."

"I'll contact our operatives in Camp Half-Blood, have them detain Castellan." Mike said, punching in a text to send to the operatives.

"I assume you will want to speak to him." Percy said, looking pointedly at Hermes.

"Yes indeed, when you find him he and I will…" Hermes began, but was cut off.

"Percy! Castellan's gone, fled the camp. Apparently he's been gone a few hours." Mike said.

"Well fuck. That's a shame." Percy said.

"Yep…Let's go get some tacos, I'm starving." Mike said.

"Same, you still driving that piece of shit pickup?" Percy asked.

"Don't you start badmouthing Sarge, that truck's been my pride and joy for years." Mike said warningly.

"Excuse me." Poseidon called out.

Percy looked back at his father. "What?"

"That's it. The culprit's been identified and all you have to say is 'that's a shame'? Shouldn't you go after him?" Poseidon asked.

"Why, I was hired to find Zeus's bolt. I found it. You want me to find Castellan then you can arrange a contract for him." Percy said dismissively. Divinity didn't care what squabbles the gods and demigods got into, they were both just money.

"Five hundred Drachma, to bring my son to me. Alive." Hermes said.

"Done. Percy, get on that." Mike said.

Percy looked at Mike for a moment and said. "I'm going to slit your throat in your sleep."

"Get to work slacker. Start at the camp." Mike said.

"Yes sir, go fuck yourself sir." Percy said, doing the army salute with just his middle finger.

"I'll get Annabeth back to camp, I think that she and her mother need some time to catch up." Mike said, looking over at the girl. She looked back with some surprise, then gratefulness.

"See you later." Percy said.

Percy was transported back to camp in a flash. As he looked around he could only frown. It was still so…rural. It was a small wonder that so many demigods died, they practiced with weapons that were out of touch with the times and didn't train in the ruthlessness that a Divinity Agent required.

"Hello Percy." A voice behind him said.

Percy turned, taking note of the speaker. He was a blond man with a scar over his right eye.

"Luke Castellan I presume." Percy said, his right hand twitching slightly. From the underside of his bracer a dart slid into his waiting hand, wickedly sharp and full of tranquilizer.

"I take it you're here to take me in." Luke said with a cocky smirk.

"Perceptive, come quietly and I won't have to bring you to your father in pieces." Percy offered.

"I don't think so. You see, you ruined the plan. Now, I have to get rid of you." Luke informed Percy, bringing out a pit scorpion.

"Well, that's me. Throwing a monkey wrench in the plans of as many douche bags and ass hats as I can, it's sort of my thing." Percy said, choosing now to throw his dart.

His dart and the scorpion passed each other in midair, the dart bit into Luke's right shoulder before he could be teleported away. Percy tried to dodge the scorpion but it managed to clamber onto him and land a sting. Percy responded by grabbing it and crushing it in his hand, he pulled out his distress beacon and activated it. When Juniper, a wood nymph and an operative of Divinity, arrived Percy was starting to lose consciousness. But he knew that a med team was not far behind. He had one last thought before slipping out of awareness.

 _"I am going to kill Castellan."_

 **Attention! Anyone who wants this fanfiction in an audio format on the Youtube Channel 'Gaming Glatorius' need only request it.**

 **With that out of the way, a few key points to discuss.**

 **This fanfiction will continue to follow the book series, this is just the end of the events in 'The Lightning thief.'**

 **I have been asked to make the story have some romance but I do not have the slightest idea how romance works.**

 **Another comment asked me to 'take Annabeth down a peg.' I fully intend to have Annabeth watch Percy later on, and be completely terrified.**

 **Clarisse will start to develop some interest in Percy, Grover will ask to be one of the field informants (receiving training by other satyrs in Divinity in a satyr-friendly form of martial arts), and numerous other campers will start considering joining Divinity.**

 **In regards to the story thus far, a few explanations to my writing choices**

 **Percy's backstory will be explained in the events of 'The Sea of Monsters'**

 **His personality is a direct result and mirror of the closest thing he had as a family member, Mike a.k.a Agent Voleur.**

 **The Easter eggs are as follows. 1. The scene from Captain America when Steve and Peggy are about to enter the secret lab. And 2. Leonard Church, one of the main characters in the Rooster Teeth Web series Red vs. Blue. To which I am a major fan.**

 **And his fight with Ares was not their last confrontation. The first fight was Percy showing Ares how formidable of a fighter he was, the next fight will have Percy outright manhandle Ares using Hydrokinesis.**

 **The organization 'Divinity' is the Percy Jackson spin on one of my favorite fanfiction concepts. A semi-secret organization that manages to be more successful than the rest of the world because it knows how to function properly.**


	6. Chapter 6 Venting Frustrations

Chapter 6. Venting frustrations

 _"I'm going to butcher him."_

 _THUNK_

A knife imbeds itself in a wooden log with a picture of one Luke Castellan tacked to it, right in between the eyes.

 _"I am going to flay him alive."_

 _THUNK_

A kukri knife lands a hit, diagonal to the ground and impacting in such a way as to imbed into Luke's face.

"You can't hide forever Castellan." Percy growled out, retrieving his melee weapons before pulling up his shotgun.

A twelve gauge shell spat its pellets with a furious bang, almost turning the picture into confetti. Percy was satisfied, for now. His main safe house had a small shooting range built underground, a rudimentary single-lane room that spanned twenty meters. This safe house was Percy's own little escape, and he made sure that every physical and psychological comfort was provided. The living quarters were simple, a comfy bed, cushy recliner, desk with his computer, and his television mounted on the wall.

Percy only used this room a few times a week, often falling asleep in one of the other rooms. His study looked like a cross between a military storage room, an armory, and a library. One wall was dominated by a weapons rack with everything from pistols to an RPG launcher. Another was occupied by a steel shelving unit. The top for weapon maintenance gear, the next two for various books and folders, the floor had boxes of ammo. The wall across the room from the door was reserved for tracking whatever target Percy had been assigned, which was now Luke Castellan.

The rest of the safe house was largely unimpressive. A working kitchen, a bathroom, a storage room/ pantry, and a lounge room. The lounge room had a wall comprised of a six inch thick sheet of acrylic that separated the room from the lake that the room came in contact with. It was early morning and the sunshine was able to filter through the water and illuminate the various freshwater fish and aquatic life in the lake. It was like living next to a massive aquarium, without having to pay for admittance.

Percy found himself in the lounge, a cup of coffee in his hand and his mind working overtime on his current assignment. He had been looking for Castellan for almost a year, but his leads had all become dead ends. The only intel that had remained current was the ship that Castellan was using, the _Princess Andromeda._ A cruise liner that had been moving towards the New York area, nearing Half-Blood Hill. Percy was hesitant to head back to Camp Half-Blood, he hated that place.

But the thought of New York brought some degree of emptiness to Percy. It was where his mother had been killed years ago, back when Percy was just a few months old. The feeling grew until Percy had to do something, he had to go to New York.

The kitchen had a ladder that led to a cabin, said cabin being a rather well furnished building in the woods. And the cabin had a small garage that would only ever have one vehicle in it. A sapphire blue Mazda RX-8, equipped with a number of after-market extras, a trunk full of weapons and ammo, and a high powered engine. Its name was Leonard, its license plate read ' ', and if anyone so much as scratched its paint job Percy would ensure that their last moments were filled with the most unimaginable pain that Percy could inflict.

The engine started smoothly, the wheels crunching the gravel of the driveway in Percy's departure. The cabin was located in some of the woods of northern most Maine, less than a mile from the ocean and plenty secluded from any men, monsters, or demigods. The car ride was only a few hours, but eventually Percy found himself in New York. He had almost forgotten the route, but he found it in the end.

It was a rotting old building, a decrepit apartment complex, and the site where his mother had died. He didn't remember it, he had been too young, but he had read the reports and heard the story. His mother, trying to make the single mother life work, had been found by some empousa, one legged vampire creatures, and subsequently killed. Then an agent, Agent Voleur, who had been tracking these empousa intervened. Sally Jackson was too far gone to save, but her son was taken into Divinity's ranks as a ward to one of their operatives. Agent Voleur volunteered his time to this, despite his pre-existing duties, citing that he could tell that there was something special about the infant.

Years later found young Percy apprenticed to Agent Voleur, who had begun retiring from active field work, and quickly becoming ideal agent material. He had learned critical thinking, psychological profiling, and observation in record time. His combat training came to him just as fast, but it was when Percy was four that the biggest development occurred. His powers began to manifest, making clear to Mike who Percy's divine parent was. Dyslexia was a problem for all Greek demigods but Percy persevered, dedicating himself to learning all natural science applications of being able to control water. When he began learning how to influence temperature, the development of Percy's abilities became unbelievable. The connections in Percy's mind began to click daily, allowing him to refine his control and continue to expand his skill repertoire.

Percy was jolted from his nostalgia by some crashing in a nearby alley. Feeling the comfort of his twin kukri long knives on his lower back and the water in the various puddles around him spurred Percy onward. Anything that was dumb enough to attack him would be dead in seconds, mortal or monster. But what Percy found was far from expected, and even a little sad. A large figure, huddled in a refrigerator box in the alley. He was huddled down with his head lowered, visibly weeping.

Percy, despite his training, felt an emotion that he had never felt before, but was able to recognize instantly. Pity, he felt pity for this being. Percy Jackson, Agent Tsunami, the ruthless agent of Divinity, felt pity for a being he didn't even know.

"Hey, what's your name?" Percy asked.

The figure looked up at him, and Percy understood instantly. His face was somewhat brutish, his hair matted down, and his teeth somewhat crooked, but what Percy noticed above all of this was his eye. A large brown eye in the middle of the being forehead. "Tyson, my name is Tyson." He said, his voice very young sounding.

Cyclops children were pretty common in large cities like these, children of Poseidon who were abandoned. Divinity had a number working as operatives, they were always welcomed in the supply and manufacturing divisions. This cyclops though, Percy didn't want to send that way. Like most demigods Percy was more sensitive to the currents of fate and destiny than a regular mortal, and as such felt that this cyclops had a great importance to his near future.

"Hey, let's get you under a roof and cleaned up. Hop in." Percy said, heading back towards his car. Tyson followed after a moment, climbing into the backseats of the car and marveling at the comfortable interior.

Percy decided to head to the Palace Theatre, the entrance for Divinity's New York location under Time's Square. The drive wasn't far, but Percy couldn't shake the feeling that he was about to be heading to Camp Half-Blood with this cyclops.

For once, he didn't dread it. In fact, it almost felt as if he should go there. But first, he had a cyclops to worry about. The drive over to Time's Square was short, but Percy knew that he was going to have to scrub his backseat with high strength deodorizer. It was fortunate that Percy thought far enough in advance to choose leather interior, it was much easier to keep clean and a greater variety of cleaners were available. Plus it looked very nice, the built in seat heating and cooling systems kept sweat to a minimum.

A building that was once intended for use as a condo complex had been purchased by Divinity and converted into, as far as the general public knew, an advertising agency subsidiary to the MechTec Company. MechTech was a company that worked as one of Divinity's fronts and helped put the more mechanically and technologically inclined demigods to good use while also working as the prime research center for most of Divinity's more advanced technological marvels.

Percy pulled up the curb of the building and put Leonard in park. He and Tyson stepped out, drawing a lot of looks from nearby tourists. A thirteen year old boy and a giant kid stepping out of a car that was easily more expensive than the cars near it was a very strange sight. Percy lead Tyson into the building, inside was an area that would have looked normal in a tax assistance service. There were cubicles a plenty in a largely open floor, each one had a semi-formal dressed operative at a desk. Percy noted how the keystrokes faltered for a moment before resuming, he knew that he and Tyson were being watched on camera and projected on a small screen in each cubicle. He also knew that those operatives closest to him had all begun to rifle through their desk drawer one handed in an effort to disguise the fact that each one had a pistol equipped with wireless camera optics that allowed them to aim at Tyson without having to take their screens. The operatives in the back were probably readying themselves in case greater firepower was needed.

Percy simply looked at one of the cameras and gave a quick nod, as one the tension and battle prep ended. The pistols were released, the high power assault rifles in the back were stowed, and the various operatives returned to their previous tasks of arranging meetings and organizing which business would have a sponsor request sent up the chain. Percy smiled as he recalled words uttered by his mentor, Mike.

 _"Remember Percy, the best disguise is a genuine one. A real pawn shop that serves as both a revenue source and as a base entrance. An apartment building that actually rents out rooms while reserving the top floor for safe houses. A fully established tech company that actually develops new technology while hiding Divinity as an 'anonymous sponsor'. All of these hide what we are by being what they are."_ The words came to Percy's memory as easily as what he had for breakfast. Every word, every lesson Percy memorized and had ingrained into his very being. Mike had been one of the greatest agents of the last century, and Percy was taught, not to follow in Mike's footsteps, but to carve out his own fame and legend as an agent.

The back room had a storage closet, which had a hidden staircase leading down to a subway station. The station had been forgotten by the city after it was deemed unsafe, likely due to the collapse of all access points to the station. The only things that remained were a section of track, which had been modified and reinforced to serve as a car entrance for the base, and the actual station. The depressed area for the tracks had been converted into the work area, a line of large desks stocked with computer monitors, phones, and built in filing cabinets were set up in pairs. Each desk back flush with another and each operator separated from the next by a few feet of space. Stairs had been added to allow easy access to the work area. The area on either side of the track had what essentially counted as group areas. Large screens showed stock graphs, sport games, news, and even cartoons if needed. Chairs, tables, snack bars, and coffee machines were set up here and there.

The side that Percy and Tyson entered in on glanced at them for a moment before returning to work, they knew that any unauthorized entry would have been accompanied by the alarm by now. The other side had a number of doors leading off to locations needed for non-mission critical functions. A med bay, living quarters, workout room, mess hall, and small shops for the minor necessities. The showers in the workout area were where Percy took Tyson.

"Hey Tyson." Percy said, causing Tyson to look at Percy questioningly. "You get cleaned up here alright, I'll go and get you some new clothes alright?"

"Ok." Tyson said simply, taking the large towel that Percy handed to him.

"I'll be right here when you are done." Percy promised, watching Tyson walk over to the large stalls. He went off to one of the clothing stores to find some new clothes for the large cyclops.

The store was not far, and it offered a wide selection of items. Backpacks, shirts, shorts, pants, and jackets of all sizes. Even as large as cyclops customers. Percy picked out a pack of large undershirts, a blue and white button up short sleeve shirt, a few pairs of pants that were sized a little larger than needed, a long belt, a pack of socks, a pack of large underwear, a new pair of shoes, and a large backpack to carry the excess in. Percy also picked up some sandwiches and a burrito, the sandwiches for Tyson and the burrito for him. In all, about three hundred dollars. But Percy was a bit generous when it came to money, within reason, but this was the first time something had inspired pity in him. Tyson deserved better, and Percy was in a position to deliver such.

When Tyson was done he found Percy waiting, a set of clothes already prepared. Tyson had tears in his eye as he soaked in the fact that his brother had bought him new clothes. The new outfit was on in about a minute, and the cyclops in front of him was now decked out in a very nice pair of dark pants, a gray t-shirt, the blue and white button up was open, and the feet were covered by a pair of large, dark blue tennis shoes.

"And that…" Percy said, standing and approaching Tyson. Tyson looked almost nervous. "…Is just proof that children of Poseidon make blue look good." The cyclops just smiled at the praise. "Now then, how about we head out. I have a feeling that we are needed elsewhere."

"Ok Percy, let's go!" Tyson said excitedly.


	7. Chapter 7 WellFuck

Chapter 7. Well…Fuck

Percy could honestly say that he was having a blast. He was currently dodging the flaming bull that was charging about, another was being manhandled by Tyson. Clarisse, daughter of Ares, was likely upset by Percy stealing the fight from her, but screw her. He was having too much fun. His bull had lost one of its horns and received a massive gash in its side, while Tyson's was just about crushed. Percy knew that this game had to end, so he let the bull charge once again and neatly sidestepped it. While Percy paused to gather his focus, the bull rounded on him again and took aim. As it charged a bizarre thing occurred, the bull's metal head suddenly just fell off. There was no blade involved, no movement from Percy, only a small bit of steam that wisped up from both sides of the cut and went unnoticed by all but Percy.

"Jackson! What do you think you're doing? That was my fight!" Clarisse shouted, looking about ready to run Percy through with her spear.

Percy merely regarded her for a moment, pondering how little effort it would take to kill her. He could make her body's water suddenly explode outward, tearing her to pieces. But Tyson was still nearby and happy, plus an angry Clarisse could be fun to play with.

"Sorry, I must have been a bit confused. When I saw you about to be trampled to death I just thought you might need a hand, I guess you being flat on your ass with your spear about ten feet away was just a part of your brilliant battle plan. What was the next part if you don't mind me asking?" Percy asked in an almost enthusiastic voice, resulting in Clarisse coming even closer to killing him.

"Peter Johnson." A voice, which Percy would describe as man-bitchy, called out.

"Ah Dionysus, how's sobriety treating you?" Percy asked cheerfully, causing the camp director to simply scowl. "Aw don't be like that, or you'll have wrinkles long before you're allowed out of here."

"Percy." Another voice rang out. Percy looked to the newcomer, and really didn't care.

Chiron was standing in all of his centaur glory, equipped with bow and arrows to boot. His face was clearly haggard from stress, but he seemed in good spirits. There were some campers behind him, a few looked like children of Aphrodite but the majority was Apollo demigods.

"Hey there Clydesdale, how's it hanging?" Percy asked cheekily, and then turned to Silena Beauregard. "Hey I'm only asking because you and your sisters were probably thinking it." If looks could kill, from demigods anyway, then Percy would already be dead. He couldn't help but feel like at least a few gods up on Olympus had fallen into laughing fits.

"That's not funny." Silena snarled.

"No it wasn't." Percy said, feigning remorse. "It was hysterical."

"Anyway, what brings you here Percy?" Chiron asked, trying his hardest to keep the children of Aphrodite from attacking Percy.

"Nothing, I was just passing by and noticed your campers getting their asses handed to them. You know, the usual." Percy answered.

Chiron pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well then, I don't suppose we can expect Divinity's assistance."

"Tell you what, I'll give my boss a call. See what we can do, alright." Percy said, fishing out his phone.

Mike's number was still set to speed dial, but what was different was that the call made it to the second ring. Mike never allowed that. On the third it finally picked up.

 _"Hello Percy."_ A familiar voice said on the other end.

"Hello Luke, why do you have my boss's phone?" Percy asked casually.

 _"Because he's here, with me."_ Luke's reply sounded like it had a smirk.

"Let's meet up then, have a chat, then I can beat you senseless and drag you back to your old man. He is still willing to pay good money for your safe return." Percy suggested.

 _"Maybe later, but for now let me put him on."_ The line was quiet for a time, then another voice came. _"Hey Tsunami, how soon can I expect you to spring me?"_

"Not long Mike, how you holding up?" Percy asked, catching the cue from Mike.

 _"Fine it's a little like that mission 4-7-13, a wolf in sheep's clothing, a golden sarcophagus, and a prick in Bermuda shorts."_ Mike passed along, Percy nodded as he began to write the message down.

The line went silent again, and Luke's voice came through again. _"Now then, I'm sure you noticed the camp's…condition. If you want to save it and your friend, then you'll need to come find me."_

"Actually, I think that one of those is about to be rendered incorrect." Percy said.

 _"What do you mean by tha…"_ Luke never got to finish his question, something happened on the other line. When Percy realized Mike had been captured he triggered his phone's trace program, which alerted Divinity agents to the location of the captured asset. _"WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON?"_

"Hey Luke, Don't fuck with Divinity." Percy snapped before hanging up.

"What was that about?" Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, asked. She had come up at some point, but kept quiet.

"My boss passed a code." Percy said, scrolling through his phone's voice archives. Finding the correct one he pressed it.

 _"Mission 4-7-13, a wolf in sheep's clothing, a golden sarcophagus, and a prick in Bermuda shorts."_ Mike's recorded voice came through.

"What code?" Annabeth asked, puzzled.

"Divinity missions are archived in an alphanumerical order, not purely numerical. Mike was saying concentrate on the 4th, 7th, and 13th words in the message. Sheep's, golden, Bermuda. Bermuda triangle a.k.a the Sea of Monsters. Golden sheep, likely meaning the Golden Fleece." Percy said, surprising Annabeth.

"The Fleece could save the camp." Annabeth realized.

"How is the camp in danger again?" Percy asked, only to be pointed at the pine tree in the distance. Even from here it was clear that the tree was dying.

"We can save the camp, we just need to go after the Fleece." Annabeth said excitedly, turning Percy back towards her.

"What 'we'. I came here on a whim, I'm not obligated to help you." Percy said simply.

"What about Grover, he's gone missing? If there's one thing I know about events like these, they are never unrelated." Annabeth said, aiming to work a nostalgic angle.

"Who?" Percy asked, the name was familiar but he couldn't place it.

"Grover, the satyr. The one who went with us to retrieve Zeus's bolt. You let him have access to Divinity's databases to help him find Pam." Annabeth explained.

"Oh him, he contacted me a few days ago. Said that he was planning on investigating a powerful source of nature magic in the atlantic. Which means he probably found the Golden Fleece, which also means that he is probably dead right now." Percy said, not too concerned with the situation.

"And you aren't the least bit worried?" Annabeth asked, close to shrieking at Percy.

"Get this through your head. I'm an agent of Divinity, which means that I..AM…A…MERCENARY. I get hired, I go fuck someone's day up, and then I get paid." Percy said.

"What if I hired you then?" Annabeth asked.

"You couldn't afford it." Percy snapped back, quickly losing patience.

"The Fleece is supposedly in the possession of the cyclops Polyphemus." Annabeth began.

"Your point?" Percy asked, knowing that this girl was about to make the mission seem more appealing.

"How many hundreds of heroes do you think have braved the Sea of Monsters? Potentially a massive number of relics and items, all fit for sale." Annabeth said, playing her only hand.

Percy crossed his arms in thought, there was a chance that Annabeth was right and some items worth some serious coin were waiting to be found. But it was a huge swath of ocean fraught with danger, and Percy would normally not take such a chance unless absolutely necessary. But the message Mike had gotten out, about the Golden Fleece. If Luke was after it then that meant that Percy could retrieve it and so use it as bait to bring Castellan to a location of his choosing. He would use the Fleece to save the camp, it was a good way to get a favor from Chiron.

"Alright then, you have a deal Chase." Percy said, delighting Annabeth. "But we play this my way, and Tyson comes if he wishes to." Tyson was now overjoyed at hearing this.

"If you're going somewhere to save the camp then I'm coming too." Clarisse said.

"Lovely." Percy said sarcastically, dialing in his phone again. "Divinity requisitions. This is Agent Tsunami requesting use of a deep sea water craft with room for five. Extended duration provisions. Pull location for drop off."

"What was all that about?" Annabeth asked as Percy stowed his phone.

"Ordering a small ship for us to use." Percy said simply.

"How long will it take to get the request processed." Clarisse asked.

"It's already done." Percy said, looking down as his phone beeped. "The ship will be here in about four hours."

"How did that get accepted so fast?" Annabeth asked, puzzled at the speed of the response.

"You know how most organizations require days to process most matters?" Percy asked, walking towards the cabins.

"Yes." Annabeth and Clarisse asked in unison, before glancing at each other. Tyson was following behind, marveling at the sights.

"Well Divinity doesn't have to worry about that since we have worked to eliminate the needless bureaucracy and mountains of paperwork. Other organizations let themselves be slowed and sidetracked by their splintered groups and inability to operate efficiently." Percy explained.

"What do you mean splintered groups and inefficiency?" Annabeth asked.

"Most organizations are comprised of various groups that all contribute to the end goal in their own specific ways. The problem comes from either being too involved with each other's operations or being too detached. The happy balance is when each system can easily and quickly share information with each other system, but not to the point where a system can access information without authorization." Percy elaborated, reaching his cabin.

"So basically the groups only work with each other as the job requires, only knowing what their role is and how it must play into the roles of the others." Clarisse said, recognizing the wisdom of the setup. It was pretty similar to how she set up teams whenever war games were being played.

It was then that Annabeth and Clarisse realized that they had followed Percy into the Poseidon cabin. The two exited quickly, light blushes adorning their faces. Tyson looked about in wonder, taking in the comfortable looking bunks.

"Take your pick Tyson, just be ready. We are going on an adventure later." Percy said, reclining back.

It felt like only minutes but Percy knew that it had been hours. Tyson had gone off exploring and eventually found Charles Beckendorf, who showed him some tricks in blacksmithing. Percy knew that it was time to go, he could feel the ship in the water not far away.

When he finally found the group he needed he stood there, just out of the light for the moment. Tyson caught sight of him quickly, Annabeth and Clarisse weren't far behind. A quick head nod was enough to send the message to all of them. The quartet moved to the beach, in the distance was not one but two ships. Percy stopped for a moment, staring at the larger ship off in the distance.

"It couldn't be." Percy whispered.

"It couldn't be what?" Annabeth asked.

"I think Luke is a lot closer than we thought." Percy said.

Annabeth was confused for only a moment, before realization struck her. Percy made for the smaller ship that Divinity had provided. It was pretty nice. It had room for five, two bathrooms, a kitchenette, and a footlocker in Percy's room labeled 'from Mike'.

Percy set the course to intercept the larger vessel, and then decided to don his armor from the footlocker. It was his full kit medium armor, black with dark blue color scheme. A black body suit about twice as thick as a wetsuit clung to his form, capable of stopping small arms fire and even deflecting knives. On top of this were a number of blue painted armor plates, all averaging at around an inch thick. A gold, twelve-point star was stamped on the left pectoral plate. From there the weapons, the shotgun and assault rifle took their place on Percy's upper back, the kukri knives were moved to the outer thighs, a pistol took its place under Percy's left armpit, and a sub-machine gun was placed in his lower back. Each firearm had a few clips or magazines to go with it, either attached to the weapon by special mounting brackets or in pouches near the weapon in question.

Percy was finishing the final checks on the securing mechanisms of his weapons, most of them had a combination of easy release bracket and specialized magnets, when his phone rang. A split second look at the caller id was all Percy needed.

"Mike, are you ok?" Percy asked.

"I'm fine Percy, our boys got me out of that situation real quick. You got the message I see." Mike said, having already been briefed about the situation and of Percy's requisition order.

"Yes, but fortunately Luke has already arrived here. No need to go after the fleece anymore." Percy said.

"Negative Percy, the situation is more dire than that." Mike said in response.

"Explain." Percy replied, slipping into 'Agent Mode'.

"I was captured while investigating an operative that I suspected of turning rouge. I has been confirmed now, but this operative escaped and, as a test of her loyalty, was sent to retrieve the Fleece. The objectives now are as follows. Terminate the rouge asset, retrieve the Fleece, and reacquire Grover Underwood." Mike directed.

"Why Grover?" Percy asked.

"He has been accepted into Divinity, he was on a mission in the atlantic with a team of other agents when a freak weather shift pushed them into the Sea of Monsters. He is an asset now, and he must be retrieved." Mike answered.

"Copy that, directives acknowledged. Who is the rouge agent?" Percy asked.

Mike didn't answer, instead deciding to simply hang up. Percy was suspicious, but he had his orders and it was a mission. The course was adjusted again, this time directed to the atlantic.

It was time to enter the Bermuda triangle.


	8. Chapter 8 Agents of Divinity Face off

Chapter 8. Agents of Divinity face off

*Percy pairings evaluated at the end of the chapter*

Percy felt the shift long before he saw or heard it. A sudden lessoning of his control over the water, and a pulling of the water to one particular point. Percy reached the upper deck and peered to where he felt the water being drawn to, and sneered in disgust. The ship had reached the edge of a large whirlpool, and in the center was Charybdis. The teeth to the massive maw were revolting enough on their own, but the various accumulations of filth and trash made them even worse.

Percy knew that in a choice between Charybdis or her sister Scylla he would choose Charybdis. The ship was equipped with high output engines and a long range grapple winch, so it would be an easy task. Turning the ship to face the rock that Scylla called home Percy took aim with the grapple launcher and fired, the close proximity made the shot all too easy. The high strength steel spike bit deep into the stone, the inch thick, industrial grade cable barely strained against the vortex's power, and the engines were able to make up for whatever the cable might have been unable to tolerate.

Percy could almost feel the frustration of both entities, his vessel was too well equipped to fall to the whirlpool and too far away for Scylla to grab. And the moment the whirlpool began to die down, indicating that Charybdis was about to spit out whatever she had sucked in, Percy gunned the engines and activated the small explosives in the grapple spike. The rock that the spike had been anchored in split enough for it to come loose and be quickly pulled in by the winch. The ship sped off without the slightest damage or delay. Ahead lay the Sea of Monsters, fraught with peril and hiding one agent in need of rescue and another in need of termination.

"Does Divinity have a tool for everything?" Clarisse asked in awe.

"No, but we do make as many of our tools applicable to as many situations as possible. This ship is one of the ten designed with the Sea of Monsters in mind, equipped with state of the art engines, high durability hull, a design excellent for speed and maneuverability, and the winch for use for docking, rescue, or for the entrance itself." Percy explained, getting Annabeth and Clarisse to look at the ship with newfound appreciation.

"And you can just order these anytime you want?" Annabeth inquired.

"Agents like me can, we typically have contracts and jobs that require us to have access to better equipment than those who work in a limited field capacity do." Percy said, taking one of the chairs on deck. He was making sure to keep some attention on the water and some on the onboard sensors.

"And you're a high level agent because of your father?" Clarisse attempted to clarify.

"Indirectly, I'm a high level agent because of my success rate in high danger missions. Which can be attributed to my powers, which come from my father." Percy explained.

"So your mentor, Mike. He's a demigod too?" Annabeth asked.

"Yep, Hermes demigod. Mike was a natural born spy and thief, and had quite the talent with a sniper rifle to boot. He was also an utter pain in the ass when he was my age, almost got into pretty deep trouble several times." Percy said with a chuckle.

"How did you two meet?" Clarisse asked, her eyes widening as she took note of the change in Percy. He once friendly face had emptied of emotion and his posture had become very hostile. "You don't have to if you don't…"

"No, it's only fair." Percy said, turning to face them. Even Tyson, who had been marveling at the ship, could feel a change in the atmosphere. "I only know what Mike and the mission reports have told me. Empousa had found my mother when I was a baby, even then I had a strong scent. She couldn't fight them, so she died. But Mike, who had been assigned to track these Empousa, managed to save me. I was taken to the nearest Divinity base with infant and childcare facilities. The next few days were a slew of database queries, and at the end all that they had found was my name and a distinct lack of living relatives. I was 'adopted' as a ward of Divinity, spend the next six years undergoing typical education for a toddler. Mike was one of the only constants. He would visit whenever his work permitted, he always said that he could sense something about me. Then, just before my seventh birthday, it happened. In a fit of anger I used my powers, which prompted Poseidon to claim me. Mike took me on as an apprentice, and trained me to be an agent. From him I learned strategy, melee combat, marksmanship, and espionage. It was up to me to develop my powers, and I did so with the express purpose of making myself as much of a threat as possible."

"Like what you did with my brothers last year?" Clarisse asked, remembering what Percy had done.

"That was a moderately advanced application, the manipulation of water temperature, and then physical hydrokinesis. Most of my other abilities are a touch more basic, some are more advanced. Like my action against the bull back at camp." Percy said.

"I've been meaning to ask about that, what did you do? Its head just…fell off. I couldn't see any water manipulation." Annabeth asked, recalling the bull's defeat.

In response Percy reached over and pulled a can of soda out of a cooler, whose contents were quickly downed, and held the empty container in the palm of his outstretched hand. "Industrial water drills are able to cut through sheets of steel when used properly." The moisture on the can was pulled off, floating as if in space, before accumulating into a singular mass. "In metal cutting water drills the addition of abrasive materials is what allows the metal to be cut through, in my case…" The moisture began to form a doughnut shaped mass, before beginning to spin. The water picked up speed but also began to change shape, thinning and stretching until it was a long, thin oval. Within seconds the water was a double layered stream only somewhat thicker than a thick hair, so thin that Annabeth and Clarisse had to lean in close to see it. "I allow the existing materials, such as sediment grains, near microscopic flakes of metal, or solid contaminants to serve as my abrasive. And when I get it to where I want it…" The strand darted away, leaving both Annabeth and Clarisse confused. Then they saw something that impressed and terrified them. The can in Percy's hand fell apart into several pieces, cut so cleanly that the only indication that it had ever been a single piece was the logo that now lay in pieces.

"How long did it take you to learn how to do that?" Annabeth asked, a mix of awe and fear in her voice. Now that Percy had demonstrated such a skill she was dead scared of even irking him.

"It took about five months to get to that point, and another two to make it combat ready. And that was almost a year ago. I've been practicing with it almost every day since, now I have perfected it. What you just saw, was just a demonstration. When you see the real deal you'll understand why monsters don't scare me anymore." Percy said, casually tossing the pieces of aluminum into a trash can.

 _"Beep"_ Came a sound from the console. Percy dashed over and took note of what kind of alert it was. It was a distress beacon, but its signal was weak. Likely why it had taken so long to get it, the Sea was running interference. Percy gathered his power and manipulated the water beneath the ship, creating a powerful current which, in conjunction with the engines, more than doubled their speed. They were cruising at almost fifty-five knots, faster than most speed boats but a tad slower than racing boats. The others had to hold on to the railings to not be sent flying back.

An island up ahead grew bigger at a rapid pace, it looked like it had once been a regular island but had been split in half. A small bridge could be just barely seen spanning the gap. Pulling up to the shallows Percy allowed the ship to stop, the island before them beckoning with an oddly peaceful air.

"Are you sure that Grover is here?" Annabeth asked.

"Each Divinity agent is equipped with a biotech homing beacon on the base of the skull, it can be remotely activated in times when we need to find the agent or activated via a distress switch built into the standard issue environmental assessment system." Percy said.

"Environmental assessment system?" Clarisse inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Percy held up his wrist, showing what appeared to be a simple, if somewhat large, digital watch. A two inch wide face and a half dozen buttons on the sides completed the look. Percy pressed some of the buttons in quick succession and gazed at the watch face.

"It is currently seventy-two degrees with humidity at nineteen percent, a north-western wind of about two miles per hour, and an atmospheric content of…" Percy frowned.

"What?" Clarisse asked, kind of impressed with such a small piece of hardware.

"The oxygen and methane content of the surrounding area is exceedingly high. I would recommend against any fire based weapons." Percy said.

"Aw darn, so no flamethrower for me?" Clarisse quipped with a smirk.

"If you want, just wait until we're clear. We actually have a new model of flamethrower on the ship that I've been itching to try out." Percy said, causing all of his companions to raise their eyebrows.

"Shall we?" Annabeth said, starting to head off towards the path that lead up to the bridge.

"Let's." Percy said, bringing his shotgun to bear.

The three demigods and cyclops made their way to and over the bridge without incident. On the other side the reason behind the unusual air composition. The other side of the gorge was a lush paradise of beautiful greens, oranges, reds, and yellows. In various fenced off areas were sheep of varying sizes, some as big as rhinos, and off in the distance was one of the objectives. Hanging on a tree, glittering in the sun, was a golden sheep skin. Even from here Percy could feel the power of the Fleece. But of all of the objectives, the Fleece was the least important one. Percy could easily see the signs of a camp on a ridge overlooking the lush field, but if it was friend or foe remained to be seen.

"Is that what I think it is?" Annabeth asked, pointing at a large boulder that was suspiciously nestled against a rock face.

"The cave of Polyphemus? Yep, so let's not go near it shall we?" Percy said, beginning a rapid departure from the cave and towards the camp.

When the group got there it was clear to Percy that this was Grover's group. There were too many tents for just the one rouge agent, and a smell of goats lingering. Percy stopped in the middle of the camp, and waited. This was a typical Divinity move, a seemingly empty camp with sniper points all pointed right at the center. Which meant that an assault specialist or two would be right behind them by now, boxing them in with suppressing fire.

"Hello Grover, fancy meeting you here." Percy said, confusing the others in his group.

"Hey Percy." A voice came from behind. Annabeth, Clarisse, and Tyson looked back to see Grover Underwood, satyr, new agent of Divinity, and current assault specialist, walking side by side with a nymph, also an assault specialist. Both were wearing standard Divinity field armor for their respective species.

"Grover, you're ok. I was so worried." Annabeth said running over to Grover and engulfing him in a hug.

"Good to see you in good health. Report." Percy ordered.

"Polyphemus is holed up in his cave right now, we've spotted another agent in the area but they haven't identified themselves. Cause for concern?" Grover responded.

"None, your mission is done. There is a ship down at the beach, grab all gear and some additional provisions from the trees and I'll rendezvous with you later. Tyson…" Percy directed.

"Yes?" The larger figure answered.

"You and the girls head back as well, but I need you to retrieve the Fleece first. The sheep may confuse you for Polyphemus so you should be fine." Percy continued.

"Why should we leave?" Clarisse demanded.

"Because your objective is complete as well, or will be once Tyson grabs the Fleece." Percy said, only to have the Fleece almost shoved in his face. Tyson had gone and retrieved it almost too fast. "How did you…?" For the first time in years, Percy was stumped. But he didn't question good fortune when it happened. "Ok then, all of you go. Now." Percy commanded.

Annabeth wanted to argue, but the memories of what Percy did on their way over here made her reconsider. The camp was able to be taken down in seconds, the equipment and Fleece all packed away. The group all retraced their path, but Percy broke away to approach the cave. He knocked on the boulder with a fist sized rock then jumped away, waiting for the occupant to exit. Percy didn't need to wait long. The boulder shifted aside with great suddenness, and in the gap stood Polyphemus the cyclops. His great size and musculature not intimidating Percy, but his milky eye was somewhat amusing.

"Who is there?" Polyphemus bellowed, his near blind eye swiveling about to try and find Percy.

"Percy Jackson, Agent Tsunami of Divinity, son of Poseidon, take your pick. There is someone on this island that I'm looking for, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they're in your cave." Percy said, drawing Polyphemus's attention to him.

"A demigod? Good eating tonight." Polyphemus said with a smirk.

"I don't think so fat ass." Percy said, pulling his pistol and putting a round into each of Polyphemus's knees.

The massive form dropped down, howling in pain. Percy darted forward, driving the point of one of his kukri knives into the round belly of the cyclops. He jumped back in time to make use of Polyphemus doubling over, clutching at the wound in his stomach, to point his shotgun at Polyphemus's eye.

"Pop goes the dumbass." Percy said with a savage grin as he pulled the trigger. The close proximity and power of the shotgun made Polyphemus's head turn into a mass of splattering meat jelly. The once mighty form slumped to the side, its threat ended for good. Percy looked back at the cave just in time to see a small movement. Readying himself he approached, Percy kept his gaze wide. Every movement in his immediate area was seen, but that still left a few areas of blind spots. Like above.

Percy dove forward into a roll, getting to his feet and facing the area where he once stood. He felt his left wrist get grabbed and a fist impacting his gut, then a sudden shift in his weight and he was airborne. His shotgun was wrenched from his grasp as he flew, but he still had the sense to turn the flight into a roll. Rising once more Percy stayed crouched, ready this time. But who he saw made him stop.

"Agent Hudson?" Percy exclaimed, observing the river nymph in Divinity armor.

Agent Hudson was one of Percy's old teammates, it was her that had given Percy the inspiration for many of his current hydrokinetic moves. Yet here she stood, a sneer on her face.

"Hello Percy." She spat. "So, Agent Voleur sends his little pet after me now. Did he tell you why Divinity sent him after me?"

Percy was silent. He was curious as to why Divinity would send someone like Mike on a mission to eliminate a rouge agent. Most of the time Mike was a Shadow, a special operations agent who investigated possible traitors and reported them to the Daggers, the eliminators of traitors. The only reason that they would send Mike to be a Dagger was for a situation that required a subtler touch.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Agent Hudson said with a brutal smile. She charged forward much faster than her armor should have allowed, and when Percy tried to counter he was dodged and struck on the side of his face. He felt like he had been punched by a cinderblock. Agent Hudson was much stronger and faster than what should have been possible. Then it clicked in Percy's mind.

"The armor." He said.

"That's right. The latest miracle the labs cooked up. The Divinity Battle Suit. Equipped with strength enhancements. Neuro connectors to increase speed and reflexes, and most importantly…" Agent Hudson placed a helmet on and promptly disappeared. Percy extended his senses out and only realized where she was when her fist was an inch from his face. Again Percy went sprawling, his mouth now bleeding.

"Well, now I get it. I had heard that there were some new, impressive toys about to be released. But these ones are very impressive. But there is still something that you're forgetting." Percy said, looking up at Agent Hudson.

"And what is that?" Agent Hudson asked, her voice distorted by the helmet's audio system.

"Armor like that blocks distorts sensing abilities." Percy said. A sliver of ice he had been forming and sharpening out of sight then shot forward.

Agent Hudson, as fast as she was now, was not able to fully dodge the razor sharp blade of ice. It came close enough to her throat to nearly slice through the body suit section covering that area. As she reeled from this near death experience she noted, too late, that Percy had caught the blade, flipped it into a reverse grip, and drove it into the back of her knee.

Pain exploded in Agent Hudson's mind, before it was numbed by the suit's build in anesthetic injection system. She tried to face Percy again, but her head was knocked back by a pommel strike from one of Percy's kukri knives, while the blade of the other's edge bit deep into her throat.

She could only gaze up from within the helmet, observing Percy's face. Noting, in her last moments, the sheer lack of pity for her. Percy sheathed the kukri he had pommel butted her with, placed his now empty hand on her helmet to steady her head, then viciously pulled the remaining blade through her throat. The blood sprayed far and wide, what few remaining twitches and jerks of Agent Hudson's limbs were progressively weakening, and even now Percy could feel the fluid inside the body lessoning by the second.

When Annabeth, Clarisse, and Tyson next saw Percy, he was carting a large, crudely made cloth sack. From the top stuck out a number of weapon handles jutted. He smiled warmly but they all could tell that there was something wrong. They had a suspicion that it had something to do with the plume of smoke that had started to rise less than ten minutes before Percy showed up. None of them suspected that the smoke was from a pyre, and that within that pyre was the burning corpse of a water nymph.

No words were spoken, Percy retired to his own room for the rest of the night. The rescued agents operated the ship back to the US, while Percy's companions grew steadily more worried. In the few days it took to get back to the mainland they came close to the _Princess Andromeda_ , but it quickly adjusted course from them. What was weird was that Percy didn't pursue. None of them knew that it was only because Luke had, using a high powered telescope, seen Percy's face. And something told him that facing him now would be a grave mistake.

So the group made it back to camp safely. The Fleece went to work quickly, Hermes himself passed a message from Poseidon, asking Tyson if he would like an internship in his undersea palace, Annabeth and Clarisse never mentioned Percy's water wire ability, and Grover's team headed back to the nearest base for debrief.

Mike himself approached Percy, having dropped off Leonard. The two rode back to Percy's private safe house in silence, the sack containing the retrieved armor nestled in the backseat.

"Someone will be by to retrieve it in a few days Percy." Mike said, as Percy parked in his garage.

The young demigod was silent for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me it was her?"

Mike looked over. Percy and Hudson had been very close, the two had even begun to see each other in a romantic light. But the fame that came from Percy's contract to recover the master bolt last year put immediate tension on whatever relationship that they had.

"Would you have done what was needed if you had known?" Mike asked rhetorically.

"…Yes, I suppose I would have." Percy said in a low, defeated voice.

When he got no response he turned, noticing that Mike had left. The armor was still here, awaiting the courier who would retrieve it. Percy fished the helmet out and simply stared at it. The tears that had been held back thus far had begun to flow, Percy's steadiness broke, and, clutching the helmet to his chest, he dropped to his knees weeping. A woman he had begun to truly care for, his oldest friend, was now dead by his own hand. As the weight of what he had done truly began to crush him he howled for the whole of the woods that surrounded him to hear. There was no gravel, no sky, and no cold. Only the helmet in his hands, the tears streaming down his face, and the breathlessness that followed each scream of anguish.

 **Percy Parings. Who, why, and why not.**

 **So there have been a few comments requesting that Percy be paired up with Annabeth or Clarisse. While I have stated that in terms of romantic writing I am woefully unskilled I will give it an effort. There are at least three possible choices for a pairing with Percy. Annabeth, Clarisse, and, only because of how often they are paired in fanfictions, Artemis. Others are options if commenters wish, but here are the reasons why and why not for these three.**

 **Least likely- Artemis.**

 **Why an option? Artemis is one of the few gods that has Divinity's respect. In later chapters I will have Percy meeting and interacting with both Artemis and her hunters, and in those interactions Percy makes it clear that he is not a typical male. His own hunter methods and usually clean efficiency make him a source of interest for Artemis, his abilities and uses of power make him terrifying to both Artemis and the hunters who follow her.**

 **Why not an option? Fanfictions have Artemis falling in love with Percy, and then willfully breaking the very oath she has maintained for millennia. Not only is this not in her character, but she is the goddess of maidenhood.**

 **Second least likely- Annabeth Chase.**

 **Why an option? The canon story has them meet up, interact like awkward pre-teens, grow more observant of each other's attractive traits, then finally get together after the titan war. They fit pretty well with each other and butt heads just enough to make the relationship believable. They fit the brains and brawn matchup nicely and complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.**

 **Why not an option? Annabeth is someone who would only irritate my version of Percy. Her immense pride is a constant issue, and her ego in regards to her intellect make any interaction between her and Percy one where she is likely to die.**

 **Most likely (for now) - Clarisse La Rue**

 **Why an option? Her personality fits well with Percy's. They both love a fight and both have a penchant for violence, often needlessly. These two would feed each other in a vicious cycle that would result in each one going further to prove themselves. And while Percy has all ranges covered, Clarisse has close range covered. These two would likely find themselves working nicely, each one have that time together when needed, then time apart.**

 **Why not an option? Ares still holds a grudge towards Percy, though his kids also dislike him they respect him for his skill. The biggest reason why Percy wouldn't get together with Clarisse is the same as why he wouldn't get together with anyone. He has been conditioned from a young age to be an agent. Much like Master Chief from the Halo universe. Percy is comfortable in combat and in areas of danger, but social and romantic endeavors are almost beyond him. Especially with him killing his first crush.**

 **Anyway, if you have another paring for Percy then please comment it.**


	9. Chapter 9 A Deal with the Moon

Chapter 9. A deal with the Moon

 **(Pairing decision at the end)**

Percy was bored, the snowy area outside of Westover. It was a cold night, the moon was full, and Percy's company was starting to annoy him. Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus, who had been freed from the tree on half-blood hill following Percy's retrieval of the Golden Fleece. Percy was here for three reasons, two of which were about to be taken care of right now.

"Gods this is cold." Thalia said, huddling close to the campfire that Percy had made for her.

He was fine in his new suit. It was the more refined version of the suit that Percy had retrieved from…

He stopped himself there, he had come mostly to terms with what he did to his old friend but it still had a bit of sting. But back to his suit. It was a more durable version of what he once owned, but his new suit enhanced his strength, speed, reflexes, and survivability. Able to survive small missiles, fire-proof, and even able to fully deflect bullets.

 _"Its winter, winter is cold, you wanted to join the Hunters of Artemis and their route passes through here. So either gripe in silence or in unconsciousness."_ Percy thought, but he held his tongue. He felt that he should at least end this day on a high note.

There was a sudden rustle of leaves, and from the woods came a number of silver clad girls. They all took note of Thalia first, but then sneered when they saw Percy.

"What are you doing here _boy_?" The lead female asked, black eyes and hair standing in stark contrast to the silver circlet on her brow. Zoe Nightshade, Percy concluded.

He gave no response to Zoe, but instead chose to bite into an apple he had with him. All of the hunters became steadily more irritated with Percy.

"Lady Artemis." Thalia spoke up, getting the attention of an auburn haired girl in the group. "I am the one that called for you. I wish to join the hunt." Thalia said.

Artemis was silent for a moment, before stating. "Zoe, set up camp. And you…" She said, directing her attention to Percy. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"Simple. I want to help you help me help ourselves." Percy said, causing raised eyebrows. "You've been chasing a manticore for close to two weeks now. I know that you and your hunters have gone across the country about four times now. And I know that you want the situation resolved."

"Get to your point boy." Artemis growled out, Percy having annoyed her now.

"I know how the manticore is doing it, I know how to stop it, and I want to help." Percy said, playing the early part of his hand.

"I don't need your help boy." Artemis said.

"You have been chasing a beast that you should have already dealt with by now. And you know that if you keep doing what you're doing then you will simply continue to fail. If you want to go back and forth across the US a few more times than feel free, I am simply trying to be courteous." Percy said, bagging his apple core and placing it in his pack.

"I doubt that, you have another reason for being after this manticore." Artemis said.

"This manticore has some of Divinity's property, I want to get it back so here's the deal. I make the manticore not able to evade you and leave him for you to do with as you please. I just want to retrieve the items and interrogate it. I will heal it when I'm finished, and you will finally be done with this whole affair." Percy said, making Artemis pause in consideration.

"I suppose you want me to swear upon the Styx?" She said.

Percy shrugged. "If you want, it doesn't matter to me. I'm just here to do a job."

Artemis pondered for a moment, before agreeing. "Very well, I agree to your terms. You trap and interrogate it, then heal it when you're done. I get to complete this hunt and you get your organizations property."

"We all win. I'll be right back." Percy said, walking towards the tree line. Thalia was sworn in within the next few minutes, and outfitted not long after. Artemis was growing impatient, Percy was taking too long. But just when her patience was near its end Percy returned, kicking the manticore into the clearing.

"Sorry for the wait, little bastard's quick." Percy said, his cheek bleeding from a cut.

"And why didn't he simple evade you?" Artemis asked.

"Because I took these back." Percy said, holding up a pair of amulets. "One allows for the wearer to detect any approaching Olympian, the other allows for teleportation every twelve hours. These are how he's been avoiding you so well." Percy explained, before he shifted his attention to Thalia. She had only opted to don a silver jacket rather than the outfit worn by the rest of the hunters. He cracked a smile. "I should have figured that from the camp's little punk rocker."

"This punk rocker shoots arrows now Percy." Thalia retorted, enjoying the banter. It had become something of a shared activity between her and Percy.

"I've fought archers before cuz, you're nothing new." Percy said, bobbing his head to the side to avoid Thalia's arrow.

A very…distinct sound began to ring out, the sound of helicopter blades. From above two military grade copters descended and hovered. Their weapons all trained on Percy.

"How…cute." Percy said, acting as though he had just received a box of little kittens.

The manticore, Thorn, looked at Percy with confusion. Then he saw something. A sudden reflection of light, like the brief sheen off of a wire held at just the right angle under a light. Thorn saw it, Artemis saw it, and all of the hunters saw it. Within seconds more and more reflections occurred, like a nest of wires coiling around Percy. Said demigod just smiled, raising his hands out as if to embrace someone.

"Goodbye." Percy brought his hands together just short of clapping them. The ground shattered, being hacked apart by blades too fine for the helicopters to see. But they did see the destruction Percy was causing, and realized that whatever was doing it was heading for them. They tried to swerve out of the way, but it made no difference. The helicopters, and the pilots within, were cut into hundreds of pieces. Thorn watched in horror, Thalia, who had seen this kind of display before, was still in awe of it, and the hunters, Artemis included, could only gape at what they had just witnessed.

As for Percy, he calmly lowered his hands and turned his attention to Thorn. "Now then, where were we? Ah yes, you were about to tell me where Castellan is."

"He's currently in the Pacific, near California." Thorn spilled his guts, figuratively, knowing that if he gave any form of resistance Percy would spill his guts, literally.

"What does he want there?" Percy continued.

"Atlas, the Titan…" Percy noted that Zoe stiffened at the name. "Luke is trying to free him. "

"What else?" Percy asked.

"A creature, the Ophiotaurus, is being hunted. If its entrails are burned then it grants the power to destroy Olympus." Thorn said, hesitating only a moment.

Percy just stared at Thorn, intimidating the manticore. Then he simply stopped.

"Thank you for your assistance. Lady Artemis, he's all yours." Percy said, walking away as Thorn was turned into an arrow pincushion.

"Well then, I do believe that our business is concluded." Artemis said, not really knowing what to do in a situation like this. She never had this kind of interaction with a male, it typically was more hostile.

"I do believe so. Have a nice day, Thalia have a nice time with the Hunters, and Nightshade…" Percy called out, getting the girl's attention. "Your father's about to get his ass kicked."

Before Percy could move more than two steps a ring sounded out. Percy fished out his phone and answered.

"Hello Mike…Yes?...Yes she's here…Ok." Percy put the phone on speaker.

 _"Hello Lady Artemis, a pleasure to finally speak to you."_ Mike said respectfully.

"You must be Mike. I've heard a lot about you." Artemis responded, a fair degree of respect present in her own tone.

 _"Not everything I hope. Percy, what did you find out from the manticore?"_ Mike asked.

"Atlas might start walking free, Luke is chilling in Cali, and some creature needs to be found and protected or its entrails will get sacrificed and cause Olympus's collapse. Oh, and Thalia joined the Hunters." Percy updated.

 _"Who?"_ Mike asked.

"Thalia, Daughter of Zeus…" Percy answered.

 _"…"_

"Punk rocker demigod girl…" Percy continued.

 _"…"_

"Aegis." Percy said simply.

 _"Oh her. I guess we can't go with the original plan, or plan 'b'."_ Mike said.

"What plan?" Thalia asked

"The plan to recruit you into Divinity so that we could get another big three agent and study your shield in the hopes to replicate its effects. Plan b was to kill you, steal the shield, and dispose of your body." Percy said uncaringly. Thalia gave a withering look.

"I'm going to ignore that." Thalia said with venom in her voice.

 _"In any case, there's a new contract now. The employer will give you the details."_ Mike said before hanging up.

"Fucking dickhead." Percy said.

"Such language, how inappropriate." A new female voice said behind Percy.

Percy whipped around, assault rifle up and loaded, and found himself facing Athena.

"Oh, Athena. I though you didn't associate with 'seaspawn'." Percy said mockingly.

"Normally I don't, but this matter requires Divinity's attention. Find the Ophiotaurus, prevent Atlas from being freed, and deliver this to Mr. Chase." Athena said, holding a letter out to Percy.

"What's the pay?" Percy demanded.

"Assistance on some of those research programs Divinity is working on." Athena offered.

"Deal." Percy said, taking the letter.

"Zeus has also decreed that the Hunters participate in this endeavor." Athena added.

"Fuck that." Percy said. "Fuck that, fuck you, fuck your owl." Percy reeled off in a perfectly calm, conversational tone.

Athena would normally have destroyed anyone who spoke to her like that. But she actually found this interaction more amusing than anything.

"Zeus promises unrestricted access to one of the celestial bronze mines upon the completion of the mission." Athena added once again.

"…Fuck my life." Percy said, defeated. "Fine."

"Artemis?" Athena questioned.

"If it is a command from Zeus then we cannot disobey." Artemis said, not happy about traveling with a male.

Her hunters were of a similar mind, but they knew it was no good. This was an order from up top, they had to obey.

"Good, I hope to hear about a successful mission when we next meet." Athena said before disappearing.

"Let's get some rules down now boy." Artemis said, rounding on Percy.

 _"You don't waste time do you?"_ Percy thought smirking.

"Wipe that look off of your face boy, our mistress is speaking to you." Another hunter, Pheobe Percy thought, said.

Any further statements were cut off as a small cut appeared on Pheobe's cheek. She recoiled instantly, clutching her cheek as she spotted the hair thin water wire dancing through the air.

"Sit down girl the, grown-ups are speaking." Percy had never taken his eyes off of Artemis.

"Do not attack my hunters boy." Artemis ordered, silver eyes flashing as she sought to intimidate Percy. It didn't work.

"As you wish, but just know that if they attack me I will defend myself." Percy said, whipping the water wire around to cut a large rock in half. It split perfectly, the area where it once connected cut so fine that it was almost polished.

"That's…fair." Artemis said, acknowledging that statement.

"Now then, Castellan is a major piece to this puzzle. Take him out and it may slow the actions of the enemy forces, I propose that I take Castellan while you and your hunters do what you do best on the Ophiotaurus." Percy suggested.

"No, Zeus ordered us to travel together and that is what I intend to do. No matter how…disdainful it is." Artemis answered.

"No matter to me. But I do have a question of you Lady Artemis." Percy said, drawing her attention.

"What?" Artemis snapped.

"Are you any good with a spear?" Percy asked bluntly.

Artemis was silent for a moment, almost as if trying to wrap her mind around the fact that someone had actually asked that.

"Why do you ask?" Artemis asked back.

"I maintain a list of the gods and their various skills. You are the number four most dangerous, one of only five to get a level ten rating on the threat evaluation. The Big Three take the top spots, you're number four, and Dionysus took number five." Percy explained.

"How did Dionysus get into the top five?" Pheobe asked.

"His influence over madness makes him one of the most dangerous gods of the group. The rest of the gods have problems that lower their threat level." Percy elaborated.

"Well then, good night. I will see you tomorrow, find yourself someplace to sleep." Artemis said.

"Well before you do that I think that you may want to see who shows up. You may yet make another acquisition tonight." Percy said, monitoring his suit's motion trackers. He was registering an incoming group.

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.

"He means us." Another male voice rang out. Everyone turned to see Agent Grover Underwood, accompanied by Annabeth Chase, and two younger children. The younger two looked similar enough to be siblings. The boy had a simple look to him, messy black hair and a school uniform. The girl was in a female version of the uniform but with the addition of a neat beret.

"Agent Underwood, how are things?" Percy asked.

"Well enough, the search is still going. But for this particular assignment I was tasked with assisting Ms. Chase with escorting these two to camp." Grover said.

"And you think that this girl will join the hunt?" Zoe asked.

"I've had various dreams in the past that hint at future events, one of the more recent ones had a person wearing a beret as well as the hunters." Percy said, Zoe didn't say anything about it as she had heard seen examples of this before.

Grover and Percy walked away to discuss Divinity business, the girl, Bianca, spoke with Zoe, and the boy, Nico, spoke with Annabeth. Each group discussed their respective sets of business, and when everything was covered Grover ordered a transport to come and take him, Annabeth, and Nico to camp.

The hunters began to retire for the night, leaving Percy to sleep outside. But the problem was that Percy's suit had a function of the bodysuit that ensured that the wearer was kept at a comfortable temperature, so as long as he wore his helmet he would be fine outside.

 **Now then, in some of the earlier chapters there were some references about vehicles. Now, since there are a lot of requests to have Percy paired off with a girl from the story I am willing to have a paring done. But while I still have final say in if Percy gets with anyone I have an offer to make. The vehicle names are all from a particular show, anyone who is able to correctly identify the show gets priority consideration in any fan suggestions.**

 **Also, there is another fanfiction being worked on right now. Jaune Arc as a horseman of the apocalypse. The first chapter of which will be released in the next few days.**


	10. Chapter 10 Director of Divinity

Chapter 10. Director of Divinity

Percy was still asleep when the hunters awoke. They sneered at the 'lazy boy', some even made to go and wake him. Thalia, seeing this, rushed there first. She had seen what happened to people who woke Percy in a rude manner. Annabeth had found out the hard way that waking Percy up then berating him resulted in unpleasant outcomes. Thalia had never thought she would ever see someone calmly beat another into a coma. But there it had been. Percy, with the most serenely passive expression, driving his fist repeatedly into Annabeth's face. She had to undergo extreme healing afterwards, since she had lost most of her teeth, suffered a broken nose and jaw, received numerous concussions, and almost lost both eyes.

"Percy, rise and shine." Thalia said, happy that she didn't have to see the hunters beaten up.

"Thalia, good morning." Percy said, rising to his feet.

"Boy! Hurry up. Our mistress has words for us." One of the hunters shouted.

"We'd better go." Thalia said, jogging back.

Percy watched, his face still hidden by his helmet, before casually strolling towards the group of girls.

"Perseus Jackson." Artemis began, still not happy about him having to tag along. "I trust that you have hunted before?"

Percy was about to respond when a beep emitted from his gauntlet. He glanced at it before starting to fiddle with some of the mechanisms. "Just a moment please." He requested.

Artemis turned her gaze back to the hunters. "We will need to find this creature before anyone else does, the problem is that we don't know where it is or what it looks like."

"Correction, you don't know either of those pieces of information. I just got a notification from some of Divinity's undersea probes near New York, a small creature heading towards camp. Exact details aren't clear but its general shape is something like this." Percy pushed a final button and a hologram of a cow-serpent creature came into view. Its coloration was hazy but its basic shape was clear.

The hunters, despite themselves, were in awe at the technological marvel before them. Even Artemis was impressed, though she had heard of some of the advancements that Divinity had made.

"Divinity has undersea probes?" Thalia asked, wanting to try and touch the hologram. Which was pretty understandable.

"Divinity has probes everywhere. It's just that the undersea ones monitor for aquatic monsters, mineral deposits, and potential areas for Divinity installations." Percy said, deactivating the hologram.

"Well then…" Artemis began, not sure how exactly to proceed. This was the first time that technology had outperformed her at her own job. "We head to Camp Half-Blood. Do you think that you can keep up boy?" She finished mockingly.

Percy glared for a moment behind his helmet, but then smiled. Another button and the sound of a motor began. It quickly increased in volume until a teal colored shape burst from the tree line. Skidding to a stop just before Percy was a motorcycle. It was very angular in its geometry, with an odd sea-foam, teal color. On either side was the vehicle's name, , in bold orange print.

"I think the better question, Lady Artemis…" Percy began, mounting the motorcycle and revving it. "Can you keep up?" And Percy sped off. The hunters were quick to run, eager to beat Percy to camp.

As they ran Artemis could only ponder about Percy. He was perfectly courteous if he was shown courtesy as well. She could easily understand the notion, and his recent behavior has not been offensive by any means so she didn't have any grounds to hate him other than his gender.

The hunters kept going until they reached the camp, and glared hatefully when they saw Percy already at the camp. He looked relaxed and had even removed his helmet.

"You cheated boy!" Pheobe accused.

"I suppose you would have been satisfied with a pure foot race. You with divine blessing against me without. I'm no cheater, you're just a sore loser." Percy said.

Pheobe was ready to draw her bow, but Artemis stopped her with a glance.

"Have you found the creature?" She questioned. She noticed his raised eyebrow, he had not expected any form of politeness from her.

"Yes indeed. Over there." Percy said simply, pointing to a large sphere of water he was maintaining. Inside was the very creature, the Ophiotaurus, happily swimming about. Some of the younger demigods were quite entertained by it, and Percy allowed them to reach into the orb to pet the Ophiotaurus.

"What do you intend to do with it?" Artemis asked, intent on figuring Percy out.

"Killing it is the most logical option, but then the issue is that I don't know how long it will take to reform. If I kill it and it simply reforms elsewhere in the world then I just wasted time and put a threat back into the world." Percy answered. He had actually been pondering this very issue for a while now.

Artemis couldn't argue with that, in fact she had been intent on killing the Ophiotaurus upon finding it. But now that option seemed more hazardous than rational.

"Another option would be to keep it at Divinity's main headquarters, but I doubt that the gods would be too pleased with such a valuable target in the hands of those not loyal to them. That does leave Olympus…" Percy trailed off, before nodding in satisfaction. His phone came out and Mike's number was dialed.

 _"What is it Percy?"_ Mike asked.

"Found the Ophiotaurus, I need to discuss matters with the Boss." Percy said.

 _"…Percy, that is not a request to be made lightly. But I understand your reasoning. I assume you realized that Olympus is the only place the gods would allow the Ophiotaurus to live."_

"Exactly, but if we are going to give such a valuable creature to the gods then we might as well get something out of it." Percy said.

 _"Hmm. Fine, I'll put you through"_ The line went silent for a time, then picked back up.

 _"Hello Agent Tsunami. A pleasure to finally speak to you."_ A feminine voice said.

"Hello ma'am, am I correct in calling you the director of Divinity?" Percy asked. He noted how some of the Hunters looked surprised. They must not have thought a woman was the leader of Divinity.

 _"That is correct. I was told that you came into possession of a valuable asset. The Ophiotaurus. What do you intend to do Agent?"_ Percy could almost hear the smirk on the director's face.

"We have something that Zeus doesn't want out and about, I think that we can get quite a few of our interests pushed if we handle this correctly." Percy was selling his plan as best he could. But he was only level seven security clearance, he didn't have access to all of the smaller plots Divinity was working on so he didn't know which ones to push.

 _"A fair point…"_ Percy heard a bit of conversation, but he couldn't understand it. The director seemed to be talking to someone else in her office. _"I will send your mentor to negotiate, in the meantime I believe that his recommendation is well founded. Congratulations Agent, welcome to level eight security clearance. Also Mike pushed for your induction to test out our field VI system, I'll let her fill you in on the rest."_ The line went silent as the director hung up.

 _"Who was she talking about?"_ Percy thought, only for Thalia to voice that very question.

"Let who fill you in?" The Zeus demigod asked.

"That would be me." A feminine computer voice said from Percy's wrist console.

Percy snapped his head towards it with a frown. "Identify yourself." He ordered

"Hello Agent Tsunami. I am the Divinity Information Logistics and Operations Network, you may call me DILON (pronounced like Dylan)." The VI introduced.

Percy nodded. So this is was the VI the director was talking about. Thalia could only gape at the marvel Percy had just received. She was able to see with her own eyes technology that had only existed in science fiction movies for her.

Artemis and her Hunters were likewise impressed, but did a better job at hiding it. They didn't use technology but they were aware of the benefits it provided and how Divinity made full use of those benefits.

"Program, instruction. List primary functions and current mission status." Percy ordered.

"Acknowledged. My primary functions include mission support, monster identification, suit system maintenance, mission report validity, and the operation of any additional equipment not part of the Divinity assault suit's standard equipment. Your current mission comes from the director herself. You are to locate and subdue Atlas the Titan before returning him to his place on Mount Orthys. No secondary objectives." DILON said.

"Any leads on Atlas' whereabouts?" Percy questioned.

"A mortal captured from Agent Voleur's rescue confessed plans for using Sybaris' Teeth, it is likely that Atlas will be present to use them." DILON answered.

"Where are these teeth now?" Percy asked.

"A number were reported in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. I would recommend heading there as soon as possible." DILON answered again, impressing all listening with her ease in doing this.

"Can you send a message to Agent Voleur?" Percy asked, walking towards the Ophiotaurus.

"Affirmative." DILON replied.

"Tell him to meet me at Camp Half-Blood and get this thing. End message." Percy said shortly.

"Message created. Message sent." DILON said.

"Good. Do a routine system check and log off." Percy ordered.

"Complying." DILON said, going silent.

Percy knew that he had to get going, but he also had to secure the Ophiotaurus as well. If he left it to its own devices then it might wander off. Fortunately Percy wouldn't have to wait long, since Mike wasn't too far away, but could pass the time entertaining the younger demigods. He crafted airborne water pathways for the Ophiotaurus to swim through right above the heads of the kids. One little girl decided to name it Bessie, and it stuck.

Bessie enjoyed the attention, allowing the children to reach into the water and pet him. Percy watched on, a faint ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Enjoying yourself?" A young voice asked rhetorically.

Percy glanced back and noticed Artemis and Zoe standing behind him. They seemed to find entertainment in the children's glee, much like Percy did.

"A little. It's nice, seeing the young ones." Percy said, keeping the water moving so Bessie would have an ever more intricate path to play in.

"Thou finds…enjoyment in children?" Zoe asked, and Percy realized how his comment could have been misconstrued.

"In a manner. It's not fair to them, the younger demigods." Percy absently noted how other Hunters were listening in. "They are faced with danger at all times from monsters, have to deal with a parent that they can't interact with, and are expected to accept these things and move on."

"Speaking from experience." Artemis commented simply.

"I've come to terms with what my life is. I've accepted that I and those that I care for will likely die young. But them…" Percy said as he nodded over to the children as Bessie poked his head out to lick a girl's cheek, resulting in peals of laughter. "They deserve to have a few more years of innocence. They deserve to be kids a bit longer, to not have to fear for their lives every day, to not live with a knife on their hip at all times."

Artemis and her Hunters were all silent. Yes Percy was a male, but he had already proven himself different. He took it upon himself to face the darkness so that others could enjoy the light. He fought and bled so that others wouldn't have to. And while he hid it well, he was still marred by what he faced and what he had to do.

"Quite the specimen, isn't it." A male voice suddenly said, startling the Hunters.

None of them had seen or heard Mike approach, even Artemis. But here he stood, his matte black armor bristled with weapons,

"Mike. Finally taking Bessie off of my hands huh?" Percy asked, merging the streams back into a large mass.

"Bessie?" Mike inquired.

"The kids named him, it just kind of stuck." Percy shrugged off.

"Hmm. We have a bus modified with a large fishtank, we'll take it from here." Mike ordered.

Percy nodded, carrying Bessie out of camp and to the rather nondescript bus. The tank was situated in the back and would have a number of cars swap out rear escort. The rear guards would switch out every few blocks to reduce suspicion and the front half of the bus was filled with armed guards. This was not a package that Divinity could afford to lose.

Bessie used the roof escape hatch as his entry point, and the water Percy was using followed the curious water bovine. Bessie looked at the various people in the bus excitedly, but quieted when he realized that these were not bright faced children.

"Load up, we need to get this thing to HQ stat. Percy…" Mike said, drawing Percy's attention. "Find Atlas, complete your assignment."

"On it." Percy said simply, heading back to his cabin to swap back into his lighter combat suit. He liked the new assault armor but he had a soft spot for the lighter and more maneuverable suit.

"Perseus." Artemis said, catching Percy's attention. "If you intend to face Atlas, then you will need my help."

Percy stopped and considered. He knew that Atlas would be a pain in the ass to fight but a divine being as backup would make the job much easier.

"That…would be much appreciated. I presume that you want to bring your Hunters." Percy said, surprising Thalia with his politeness.

Artemis smiled. She knew that so long as courtesy was mutually shown then this would be an enlightening experience. "You would be right. Are you ready to leave?"

"Just let me change and I'll be good to go." Percy answered. Some of the Hunters were still unhappy about Percy's presence but would put up with it for the time being.

The next few hours blurred for Percy. After donning his light armor and weapons he mounted his motorcycle and began his ride to the Smithsonian. It would take at least a day of hard riding to make it there at close to two hundred miles per hour. The metal composing the motorcycle's plating making it invisible to mortal eyes and instruments. Within two hours Percy and the Hunters found themselves in front of the National Air and Space Museum.

And that's when things went to shit.

 **Important Author Note**

 **Ok, so a few things to talk about.**

 **Check out the actual video that sparked this fanfiction on YouTube at Gaming Glatorius.**

 **This chapter is meant to discuss some of Percy's motivation as an Agent of Divinity. Like any well written character Percy's personality is meant to be seen based on his interactions with other characters, his behaviors in various situations, and his reactions to events. He can be a ruthless killer when he needs to be, but he can also be kind and tender at times. He isn't a sadistic psychopath but he also isn't some pushover.**

 **Check out the other fanfiction 'Jaune Arc rider of the Red Horse'.**

 **If you still have suggestions for potential future relationships for Percy leave them in the reviews and I will be happy to address them.**

 **Stay tuned for future updates to both these fanfictions as well as video uploads to the channel**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11. Better than Hercules

The visit to the museum quickly went to hell. Percy and the Hunters found that Atlas and his men were already there, and Percy decided that shooting the one carrying the teeth was the best first action. Fortunately the Divinity standard issue pistol was equipped with a built in suppressor, so only the body dropping was a sign of anything amiss. But the problems only continued from there as Atlas, scooping up as many of the teeth as he could, took his chance to flee. Percy would have pursued him but a movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Zoe was about to charge after her father when Percy tackled her to the ground. She had enough sense of mind to perceive a massive, golden form fly through the space she had just been occupying. She immediately recognized the Nemean Lion and realized something, that he had just prevented her death.

Percy took the time to pull his kukri blades and charged in. His weapons did nothing except agitate it.

"Lady Artemis, you go after Atlas. I've got simba here." Percy said, keeping the lion's attention on him.

Artemis would have argued, but getting Atlas was more important. She gestured to a group of her hunters and began to chase the titan. Zoe stayed behind to help Percy, the two shared a quick glance before nodding. Percy went in close and began to harass the lion while Zoe kept her distance and tried to land a meaningful hit.

" _Think, who's killed this damn thing before. Obviously Hercules, but he strangled this…thing…"_ Percy paused his thoughts. Strangulation, asphyxiation, lack of air.

"Drowning." Percy whispered. He gathered any nearby water and began to wrap it around the lion's head. It paused for a moment, but then realized what Percy was doing and tried to free itself.

Zoe was shocked, but when she caught Percy's eye he nodded in the direction Artemis had gone. Knowing that Percy had this handled she leapt towards her mistress' aid. Percy needed only a few more seconds before he felt the Nemean Lion die, its body disintegrating and leaving only the pelt. Percy scooped this up and ran off to find Artemis.

When he got there he witnessed Atlas escaping, an armored truck departing at breakneck speeds. Artemis and her Hunters were fighting a number of strange creatures. The seemed to shift from solid to skeletal and were equipped with ancient greek armor.

" _Spartoi."_ Percy thought.

This was going to be difficult, Spartoi couldn't be killed except in specific ways. Percy and the Hunters all proceeded to fight the Spartoi but it was not going well, until Bianca managed to stab one. The Spartoi in question burst into flame and disintegrated.

" _What? How? Unless…A child of Hades."_ "Bianca, with me." Percy said, jumping into the fray with a new strategy. The Spartoi were wary of Bianca, but Percy was not one to be denied. He tackled one, slipping around its sword to get behind it and grab it in a headlock. "Bianca, now." Bianca only hesitated for a moment before driving her knife into the one Percy held. The flames did scorch his armor a bit but it was worth it.

The others fell in short order, Percy would use a grapple to pin a Spartoi in place while the Hunters kept the others at bay and Bianca would dispatch the immobilized skeleton. Atlas had escaped, but his efforts were undone since the very creatures he had come here to create were now piles of ash. But it still left them with a problem, Atlas was gone and there wasn't much that could be done to find him.

"So, what now Perseus?" Artemis asked, he was the one being accompanied after all.

"I'll need to track that vehicle, and I'll need traffic cams to do that." Percy answered.

"Perhaps I can help Agent Tsunami." A feminine digital voice suggested.

Percy frowned and looked at one of his pouches. He pulled his smart phone out and looked at the screen with amusement.

"Hello DILON, how long have you been on this device?" Percy asked.

"I have been uploaded onto all devices associated with you, it was mandated by your status as a field tester of experimental VI programs. I have taken the liberty of pulling all available surveillance footage from your location and identifying the vehicle, I am currently performing similar actions with traffic cameras located on the route the vehicle is taking." DILON said simply.

"So you have eyes on that vehicle right now?" Percy asked, grateful for this new piece of gear. The rest of the Hunters could only gape at how a piece of technology had outperformed them at their own specialization so easily.

"Affirmative, I have also taken the liberty of arranging transport to give pursuit." DILON said.

"Thank you DILON." Percy said, pocketing the phone.

"Percy." Thalia said, catching her cousin's attention.

"Yes Thalia?" Percy answered with a raised eyebrow.

"Your organization has the coolest gear." Thalia said, shaking her head in exasperation.

"You could have had access to it, but I guess immortality is a fair trade for that." Percy said, taking the time to address the damage to his armor. It was scorched but still serviceable, and Percy knew that the boys in supply were going to be pissed. No sooner than the thought crossed his mind did a tow truck pulling a rather nice tour bus rolled up. The drive took one look at Percy, nodded, and deposited the bus.

"So…" Percy began. "Who wants to drive?"

Zoe, unsurprisingly, volunteered. She claimed to have more driving experience than anyone here, at least in regards to automotive vehicles. With her behind the wheel and DILON being navigator the Hunters and Percy all managed to find the port where Atlas was waiting. The titan, believing to have lost the group, paid no mind to the bus as it rolled to a stop. Percy glared at Atlas through the tinted windows and thought.

"Lady Artemis." Percy said, catching the goddess's attention. "I have a plan. Zoe, I'll need you to distract Atlas. Do any of the Hunters have greater skill with close combat?" Zoe nodded, waving a number of Hunters forward. They were visibly upset at having to listen to a male, but Percy had proven himself so far. Zoe had recounted how Percy drowned the Nemean Lion rather than fight it as one normally would.

"What about the rest of us?" Another Hunter asked.

"Everyone else will keep their distance, harass Atlas and keep any other monsters from interfering." Percy answered.

"What about you?" Artemis asked.

"I will be laying a water trap for Atlas, when I give the signal the close fighters need to break off and get their distance. Artemis, if you shoot Atlas in the head will he be knocked out?" Percy finished laying out the plan.

"For a few hours at least." Artemis estimated. She wondered though, why Percy wanted her to do it. She had seen his equipment and weapons, he would be able to damage Atlas sufficiently for capture.

When she voiced this question Percy just fixed her with a stare. "I figured that you would want to land the decisive blow. Be able to brag about capturing not only a titan, but the Lieutenant of Kronos himself."

Artemis merely stared back, realizing that Percy wanted for her to be able to claim the credit for Atlas's capture. Emboldened by this she turned to her Hunters. "Well, it seems like we have a plan."

Percy nodded, then began to direct where everyone needed to go. Artemis took a position away from the rest of her Hunters but took some as security. The close combat team got into position while the cover team took their place. The pier had a number of buildings that provided excellent vantage points for archery. Percy snuck around until he was at the water's edge, he gave a small wave to Zoe and she acknowledged the signal.

"Hello father." Zoe said, approaching Atlas. He whipped around trying to spot anyone else. But when he realized that it was only his daughter and a small group of Hunters he laughed.

"What is this? Where is your precious mistress?" Atlas taunted, trying to understand the logic in his daughter's actions.

"She sent us ahead titan. She'll be along shortly." One of the Hunters with Zoe answered.

"She'll arrive to find your bodies girl. Your goddess has sent you to your death." Atlas said, donning his armor and preparing for combat. He knew that these Hunters could react faster than normal humans, but he was Atlas. He could crush these insects without breaking a sweat. The team was nimble, opting for evasions rather than direct confrontation.

Atlas thought he had one, she hadn't moved fast enough to fully dodge his spear. But an arrow came out of nowhere and struck the shaft of his weapon, diverting that last little bit to allow the Hunter to escape unscathed. Atlas spared a glance in the arrow's area of origin and saw the rest of the hunters perched on a rooftop. He leaned back to avoid another arrow, it went whizzing past his head, but then had to backpedal when Zoe came in close with her knives. Atlas managed to avoid all but a cut on the bridge of his nose. He raised his spear to impale his daughter and the next moments seemed to happen in slow motion. His right arm was raised with spear in hand, his left raise to balance, Zoe's eyes darted down to spot something out of Atlas's line of sight, she smirked as she and the other Hunters leapt back, and a sharp pain erupted from Atlas's armpits.

During the fight Percy had been carefully manipulating water in many ways. He had lowered the humidity in the air to make arrows fly with as little impediment as possible, he also helped by pulling on moisture on Atlas's armor to inhibit his movements by tiny but helpful margins, and finally he snaked thin streams of water through the gaps between pavement stones. When Atlas was in position Percy struck. He collected these thin streams into a pair of water orbs, one on either side of Atlas. Then he shaped them into tendrils, froze their points, and drove them into the unarmored underarms of Atlas. The last bit was to cause a large water bubble to pop, signaling Artemis. Atlas had only a moment to hear the scream of the arrow before its point embedded itself into the titan's forehead.

The Hunters all cheered, congratulating each other on such a well done job. Artemis joined her Hunters but quickly caught sight of something that concerned her. Percy was out of the water but was stumbling. The rest of the Hunters quickly noticed, but Thalia was the first to run to him.

Percy's head was swimming, he didn't have long to wait. "DILON, send a containment request. Alpha priority and level ten confinement." He commanded, his voice shaking.

"Acknowledged…Complete, containment teams have been dispatched. ETA, two minutes. Agent Tsunami, I can only acquire basic vitals from your current suit but they are concerning." The VI said.

Percy ignored her, opting to detain Atlas. He froze copious amounts of water around the titan and pinned the large being down. As soon as he was done his vision blackened, and he saw no more.

When he woke he found himself looking into the face of his cousin. She was clearly worried, but became visibly relieved when Percy began to show signs of life again.

"My lady, he's awake." Thalia shouted.

Percy noted that the containment team was there, along with a large metal case. It was about three meters tall and two wide and long. Atlas was nowhere to be found so he assumed that the titan was safely locked in the containment unit. They were speaking to Artemis, who turned at Thalia's cry. Artemis began her approach, some of her Hunters accompanying her.

"Perseus, are you… alright?" Artemis asked, not used to being concerned for a male. But he had definitely earned her respect. He was a clever tactician and skilled fighter. And the fact that he regarded everyone, her Hunters and other demigods, with polite neutrality went a long way into Artemis's favor.

"Don't worry Lady Artemis. I was just tired, manipulating water in so many different ways is extremely taxing. I just need some time and I'll be mission ready." Percy said, standing.

"So, how are you going to get Atlas back to Mt. Othrys?" Artemis asked.

"I already had that planned, Divinity can't risk the roads since there is too much of a chance of a monster attack to rescue Atlas. Oceans are a possibility but it would take too long to cover that much ground. Which leaves an airdrop." Percy answered, he had already set up the teams needed for said drop.

"I though children of Poseidon weren't allowed to fly." Thalia pointed out.

"Agents of Divinity are exempt from such rules, a little side clause we snuck into our agreement with Zeus." Percy said.

"So, you're going to fly Atlas there." Artemis said, weighing her options.

"Yes, why?" Percy asked, but he already suspected.

"I wish to see this operation take place, as such I request to accompany you." Artemis said.

"I thought so, that's why I took the liberty of requesting an all-female drop team." Percy said.

"Hold on Percy, what exactly occurs with this kind of drop?' Thalia asked.

A few hours later she had her answer, and subsequently yelled at Percy. "YOU PEOPLE ARE INSANE!"

 **Chapter end**

 **NOT!**

 **You think that I would just leave that kind of cliffhanger? What am I? A shitty fanfiction writer?**

"We're fully aware Thalia." Percy said, an excited grin on his face.

Percy, Artemis, Zoe, Thalia, and a small number of Hunters were in the belly of one of Divinity's stealth transports. They were currently around 35,000 feet up and the flight was coming to an end. Each guest Hunter was strapped to a drop operative, the very reason that Percy had requested the female team, and were now very apprehensive about the affair. Flying didn't bother anyone but Thalia, but abandoning a fully functional aircraft was something that even Artemis was nervous about. The doors opened, and the rushing air deafened everyone. Percy put his hand to his ear and spoke, even the Hunters had been given comm devices for this drop.

"Alright everyone we are approaching the drop zone, keep it tight and stay together. Use your packs sparingly, Course correction only. You don't want to end up like Agent Georgia." Percy ordered.

"What happened to Georgia?" Thalia asked, the drop op with Artemis turned towards the Zeus demigod to answer.

"No one knows, we never found him."

The plane shifted and the drop ops began to depart the hold. The containment case was the last to leave, flanked by its own escorts. Even over the wind Percy could hear Thalia screaming bloody murder. The group all assumed a double 'V' formation, the front group lead by Percy dove sharply, the second group, full of the Hunters, would pull rear security. Behind the second 'V' the case and its escorts smoothly descended.

The drop was uneventful, though the front team had to clear the landing zone quickly. The parachutes all opened smoothly, the case was deposited safely, Thalia wanted to kill Percy. It was all a nice mission. Atlas was still unconscious when the case was opened, courtesy of the sedatives pumped into him for the last few hours. And when he awoke he found himself back under the sky. The Hunters all departed, shaken but happy about their experience. The drop ops returned to base, nonchalant about the entire affair. And Percy returned to one of his safe houses, cracked a coke, and relaxed the rest of the day away.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12. How did I get involved in this shit?

Percy found that life as a Divinity agent was quite nice. Yes the training had been rigorous and difficult. Yes the skills that Percy had developed were far more formidable than they would have been otherwise. And yes, the equipment and resources were leagues above what other demigod groups had access to. But still, there were times when every agent needed a bit of time to just relax and enjoy some leisure activities.

"PLEASE NO!" BANG. A demigod pleaded, just before the walls behind him were painted with his brain. Percy had taken some off time, but Percy's definition of relaxation was a bit more violent than that of his peers. He had taken a minor contract from Apollo, to retrieve a clear sighted mortal named Rachel Dare from Goode High School. What made this job appealing to Percy was that it seemed Luke had an interest in her as well, and Percy was never one to turn down killing off Luke's men.

Glancing down, Percy took note of his quarry. Rachel Dare had been knocked unconscious by Luke's flunkies, they managed to get to this location first, but she looked like she was coming to.

When Rachel opened her eyes the first thing she saw was a black boot. She dimly noted that the toe had been scuffed and scratched enough to show that it was black painted steel. Following the leg up she took note of armor plating, weapons and ammo pouches, a twelve pointed yellow star, and eventually sea green eyes peering at her. They were emotionless, carrying no hint of friendliness or hostility.

"Get up, we have to move." He said, holstering his assault rifle.

"I'm not going anywhere until someone explains what's going on." Rachel demanded, springing to her feet and getting in Percy's face. She dimly noted that he hadn't backed down from her, he remained resolute against her.

"Here's the short version. These fucks…"Percy said, prodding the body of one of Luke's men with his boot. "Are after you. Not sure why, and frankly I don't care. But my organization is against their boss and so, here I am."

Rachel searched Percy's face for any sign of deceit, but his expression gave her nothing. But a movement behind Percy caught her attention, her breath was subsequently caught in her throat. Percy didn't bother looking, he had sensed the Minotaur making its way towards him for some time now.

"Go to the front gate and wait for me there." Percy said, turning towards the hulking form and drawing his kukri knives. "I'll take care of this."

Rachel could only stare at the young man as he began to charge the massive beast. But she found herself running, running through the halls, out the front door, and right past the gates. She wasn't waiting for some lunatic, she was going home. She didn't stop until she reached the apartment her family resided in, they were gone at the moment but that only aided Rachel. It would be hard to explain why she was home early looking like she had seen the devil. But here she was, safe and sound. Her breathing eventually stabilized and she now had the opportunity to rationalize her day so far. She had been assaulted by some kind of one-eyed giant, chased by these teenaged thugs with swords, knocked out by said thugs, and came to only to find herself face to face with another teenager, who then fought what could only be described as a minotaur.

She was busy making herself a lemonade and sandwich lunch when a knock came from the door. She checked the lock and was happy that it was secured, before peering through the peephole. She sprang back when she saw Percy's face glaring at the port. She attempted to silently back away, maybe he would be fooled and leave. Not the case.

"I know you're in there Miss Dare, trying for silence won't work with me. Please open the door, you're not safe here." Percy's voice said, muffled by the door.

"Leave, I'm calling the police." Rachel threatened.

"Go ahead and try, I'll wait." Percy replied.

Rachel grabbed for the nearest house phone, but found that when she dialed 911 all she got was a dead line. The same was true for the rest of the phones, in a last attempt she tried her cell phone. But it didn't work either. She stared at the screen for a moment in disbelief, before it lit up with an incoming call. Rachel didn't even register the caller id before clicking accept.

"Hello, I need help. There's some crazy person here, I need the police here immediately." Rachel said, not giving the call sender the chance to speak.

"It would be kind of redundant to call the police on myself Miss Dare." Percy's voice said from the other side of the call.

Rachel was now very afraid, this person cut her phone lines, blocked any cellular calls from leaving the area, and had her boxed in. Swallowing her fear she responded.

"What do you want?" She asked as calmly as she could.

"To talk, I have no intention of harming you. But I cannot say the same for other interested parties." Percy answered.

"What other interested parties?" Rachel asked.

"Those peons and monsters you saw earlier. The Cyclops, the sword carrying teens, the Minotaur. They didn't care if you were unharmed, they just needed you alive."

"And you do care?" Rachel inquired.

"I may be on vacation, but I still get paid to bring you in. But unlike those fellows at the school, I would prefer you both alive and in one piece. So, would you be so kind as to open the door?" Percy said.

Rachel had always been known for being good at reading others, and while she couldn't be too certain with Percy it did seem like he was being sincere. So she unlocked the door and let the demigod in. The next two hours was spent answering Rachel's questions. She learned about the gods, monsters, and Divinity. She learned of the situation with Luke and Camp Half-Blood. By the end she had found that Percy was an admirable, if cold, individual. She was more than willing to accompany him if the alternative was capture by Luke's forces, and she was decidedly interested in finding out why people were after her.

Percy's car, the sapphire blue beast named 'Leonard Church', was a very comfortable ride. The leather seats were both heated and massage equipped, the stereo was top tier, and the interior was immaculately clean. The engine purred to life smoothly, Rachel could only marvel at this masterpiece of engineering. The vehicle was a few years old but its current condition and aftermarket extras probably made it worth more than her family's car.

The ride to the Palace Theatre was quite peaceful, but, like Tyson years earlier, Rachel was confused by Percy parking in front of an advertising agency. Unlike Tyson Rachel immediately recognized the tension that permeated the air upon their arrival. She noticed the various guns pointed at both her and Percy, which were quickly stowed when Percy waved an all clear.

The underground railway that had been converted into an underground base staggered Rachel for a moment. But she adapted quickly and followed Percy until he had reached a nondescript hallway. It had a directory sign that said 'EcComm 1-5' with an arrow pointing down the hallway. Percy opened a door with an 'EcComm 1' plaque and ushered Rachel in. The room was quite plain. A number of simple folding tables arranged in an 'H' shape and flanked by desk chairs. In the middle table, the bridge between the two parallel lines that served as the work tables, was a sleek and impressive looking projector.

Percy plugged his phone into the projector and dialed a number. The projector lit up the back wall and showed the face of a young man. His hair was cut short and he seemed to be in his early twenties, beyond that there was not much to say about him physically. But even so, Rachel felt the commanding presence he exuded. Even through the projector this man seemed to be a seasoned and deadly operative.

"This is Agent Tsunami contacting Shadow 913, go for secure." Percy said.

"Shadow 913, I read you loud and clear. What is your status Agent?" Mike asked in response.

"Target Dare, Rachel Elizabeth, has been acquired. Requesting next phase of objective." Percy answered.

"Understood Agent, Miss Dare is to be escorted to a rendezvous point established by Apollo. Coordinates are already being sent to you, further instruction will be given upon reaching the RP." Mike said, a moment later a notification popped up on Percy's phone.

"Roger that Shadow 913, Agent Tsunami out." Percy said, cutting the line.

"So what now?" Rachel asked, trying to peer at the location Percy had been sent.

"Now we get you to this location and figure out why Luke wants you." Percy answered, knowing full well that she couldn't understand the coordinate code had been given.

"What about my Parents, they're bound to get worried if I'm gone too long?" Rachel explained.

"As far as they know you and nineteen others have been invited to an art exhibit in a museum set to open in the next few months. It includes a full week stay at a four star hotel, room and board covered. Apparently the ones who issued the invitations were quite impressed by your skills and critical eye." Percy answered, making Rachel's eyes widen. She had already recognized the technological superiority of this organization, blocking both landlines and cellular signal, wirelessly converting a regular phone into a receive only phone, and getting access to her number so quickly all made that quite clear. But for them to have such reach to establish a cover story that convincing that quickly was very impressive.

"I see, alright then." Rachel said, getting a raised eyebrow from Percy as he departed from the room.

"You're taking this well, I don't think most others would be so understanding in this situation." Percy said, taking stock of his ammo. If he needed to resupply it would be best to do it here before departing.

"I've seen Greek monsters three times today…" Rachel said, glancing towards a group that included a human, a centaur, a goat legged man, and some green haired humanoid being. "I figured that it's best to stay close to someone who clearly knows what they're doing."

Percy merely shrugged, this had been his life for so long that seeing monsters and other nonhumans was the norm by now. But he started to notice Rachel paying pretty close attention to him, especially his eyes. He turned his gaze away, not really knowing what to do in this situation. The two were silent as they made their way back to the car, but Percy could still feel Rachel's attention riveted to him. Eventually it started to become annoying, so he addressed it.

"Did you lose something over here Hondo?" ( **Points if you know what science fiction movie this is from** ) Percy asked, setting his phone in place to serve as the GPS.

"You mentioned monsters, the gods, and your organization." Rachel began.

"Yes, your point?" Percy asked, by now quite short on patience. It was made more evident in his more aggressive driving patterns as they pulled away from the base entrance.

"Well, that other guy mentioned Apollo. I'm guessing he was talking about the real Apollo, like driving the sun chariot Apollo." Rachel continued.

"Yeah, fucker's a beach bum with authority." Percy said. The sun outside seemed to increase in intensity for a moment, as if it had heard Percy. Rachel realized that this god must have heard her driver's comment and was expressing displeasure at it. She was outright shocked when Percy's reaction to this was to flip off the sun.

"Anyway, if the Greek gods and their legends are true then what about demigods?" Rachel asked, she'd kept her suspicions under wraps for the last few hours. But seeing the tightness in Percy's jaw confirmed what she had suspected. "Which one's yours?"

"Poseidon." Percy answered curtly, this was a subject that most knew not to broach with him.

"Did something happen? Between you and him?" Rachel asked, noticing the anger. It was an odd thing to see anger in one's body language despite the expression being so apathetic.

"Something didn't happen, between him and my mother." Percy answered cryptically, turning on the radio. Rachel didn't press any further, as good as Percy was at concealing his emotions she could clearly see the efforts to fight back tears. She was able to deduce the rest from there.

"I'm sorry." She simply said. Percy didn't answer, he simply glared out through the windshield.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13.

When Percy and Rachel arrived at the zone, an out of the way spot in central park, it quickly became a waiting game. Rachel, having been smart enough to bring her bag, started to draw to pass the time. Percy had taken to dismantling his weapons and performing cleaning and maintenance on them. Rachel found herself glancing at him from time to time, noticing a few small habits that intrigued her. He held himself and his weapons in such a way that allowed him to still have an almost unobstructed view, he would momentarily freeze whenever something in that view moved towards them, and kept at least one weapon fully set, loaded, and within reach.

Eventually the sound of a roaring engine was heard, and a large, bright red pickup truck pulled up. Rachel read the license plate quickly, it read 'SARGE' in bold letters, and had a rough and gritty feel to it. Percy seemed to recognize this vehicle quickly, as he lurched forward and started to holster his weapons.

Rachel saw him, Mike, the man she had seen in the video call earlier. Like in that call he seemed to carry an authority to him. He moved with smooth motions, like a jungle cat casually approaching its intended prey. She had no doubt that this man could kill her in a heartbeat if he so chose.

"Mentor, it's good to see you." Percy said.

"I haven't been your mentor in years Percy, what happened to calling me a shadow?" Mike said with a smirk.

"Monitored conversations are one thing, this is private." Percy answered simply.

"Very well. Now, this is important. A few contacts in Camp Half-Blood confirmed that a number of Monsters were able to get in." Mike said.

"How, the barrier is impervious. It even extends underground so they couldn't tunnel their way in either." Percy said with a frown.

"Turns out that there's a workaround to that. The Labyrinth." Mike said.

"The Labyrinth. You mean the Labyrinth originally meant to hold the Minotaur?" Percy asked.

"The very same. It seems that this structure manages to exist outside of normal spatial parameters, so it can form entryways anywhere it wishes. This includes one opening right into Camp Half-Blood." Mike said, watching Percy cross his arms and start thinking.

"What can we do about it? Can we block the entrance?" Percy asked.

"Not that easy Percy. If we try to block the entrance it will simply move so that it's unblocked." Mike answered.

"Ok, let's leave that issue alone for right now. I'm guessing that Luke intends to use the Labyrinth to flood the Camp with monsters. But how? If what the legends about it are true, then even its creator almost wouldn't be able to navigate it. How does Luke intend to…do…this?" Percy trailed off, his head turning to look at Rachel.

"Ah yes, which brings me to that point. Miss Dare here seems to possess an uncanny ability to see through the Mist, even beyond what demigods are capable of. We have it on good authority that such individuals can navigate the Labyrinth. Unfortunately for Luke, Cronos doesn't fully understand how Miss Dare is useful. He only knows that she is." Mike said. Rachel seemed surprised by this, but she kept quiet knowing that this was an exchange between the two of them. As such she stepped away, but kept near the car.

"Wait, the legends say that Theseus navigated the Labyrinth. How?" Percy asked.

"That brings me to the next point. There is an item, called Ariadne's string, which can allow for someone to navigate the Labyrinth." Mike said.

"Please tell me that we have this item in custody." Percy said.

"Yes indeed. A few decades ago Daedalus approached Divinity with an offer. We supply him with new identities as needed and we get to him as a consultant. He asked us to stow the string for safekeeping." Mike explained.

"I would think that any child of Athena would be scrambling to meet the most famous Athena demigod in history." Percy pointed out.

"Normally yes, but he is a private person and you need some pretty high clearance to even meet with him." Mike answered.

Percy was silent after that, digesting the fact that the most famous inventor in Greek mythology was one of his coworkers.

"I take it that a contract came for us to do something about the Labyrinth opening in Camp." Percy speculated.

"No. The Director is trying to establish a somewhat more positive relationship with the Camp, and to do this she intends for this mission to be a charity." Mike said. Neither of them liked this, since charity cases rarely ended well for them. But orders were orders, and they would be followed.

"That still leaves us with the issue of an opening that we can't simply destroy or close." Percy said, bringing the conversation back to the problem.

"To discuss the creation, speak to the creator." Mike said simply, then turned back to his truck.

Percy didn't try to follow or stop his former mentor, he figured that Mike had a mission of his own. So instead he headed back to his car, where one Rachel Dare was waiting. By now night was falling and it would be best for them to rest, a nearby hotel would suffice. It was one of the properties that Divinity used as a front, a revenue source, and a safe house. Percy signed in for a two room space near the top and was led by one of the staff. When they did reach the room Percy claimed one of the rooms within seconds. Rachel took this time to try and get some more information.

"So, he was your mentor huh." Rachel began.

"Yes. One of the best snipers Divinity has ever produced." Percy said, smiling as he remembered Mike teaching a young Percy how to shoot.

"He said something about Shadows. What did he mean?" Rachel asked.

"The Shadow Corps is a group meant to identify and eliminate traitorous agents or assets. Their actions, movements, and missions are only accessible by the Director herself. And no agent is above their scrutiny or beyond their skill." Percy explained.

"So they're elite agents?" Rachel asked for clarification.

"No. They're elites among elites. Only those agents who have demonstrated remarkable skill and unquestionable loyalty to Divinity are even considered. And even then it's a long, grueling process to get accepted in." Percy said as he fiddled with his phone in response to a notification popping up.

"And your mentor is one of them?" Rachel asked, remembering the first time she met Mike's eyes. She still felt that he was one order or inclination away from killing her.

"After he killed his younger brother." Percy answered, seeing Rachel's head whip towards him. "The younger brother was gathering other agents to go rogue and tried to recruit my mentor. He played along just long enough to gather both evidence and the full list of names, and then proceeded to hunt them down and kill them all. He received both a commendation for his actions and a recommendation for the Shadows written by the Director herself."

"So he kills a bunch of people and got rewarded for it?" Rachel asked, somewhat unimpressed.

"He killed almost forty traitors and his own brother singlehandedly, all of whom were people who posed a great risk to Divinity. So yes, he was rewarded for killing them." Percy said crossly.

Rachel was silent. She understood the logic behind the situation but it still didn't sit right with her. She knew that she could never be able to simply kill so easily, but she also knew that demigods had to live life differently than her just to survive. Percy went back to reading the notification, his brows rising as he read.

"You should go and get some sleep, we're meeting someone very famous tomorrow." Percy said, setting the phone aside. Rachel left, more than a little concerned about the immediate future.


End file.
